JAVIER ZARZALEJOS EXCHANGES PRIORITIES WITH CYPRUS’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE EU

The Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), Javier Zarzalejos, held an exchange of views with Cyprus’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Christina Rafti, as part of the preparatory contacts for the upcoming Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.

During the meeting, held at the European Parliament with the participation of the European Commission, the main legislative files under the remit of the LIBE Committee that are at different stages of negotiation were discussed. These are expected to shape the interinstitutional agenda during the Cypriot Presidency.

Zarzalejos highlighted the launch of trilogue negotiations on the Regulation to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse (CSAM)—for which he is the rapporteur—as well as the progress of negotiations on the revision of the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. He also referred to other LIBE priority files in the areas of migration, asylum, security, and data protection. Particular attention was given to the Returns Regulation, the application of the safe third country concept, the list of safe countries of origin, as well as several regulatory simplification initiatives within the Omnibus packages, with special emphasis on data protection safeguards.