Other events
All other public events organised as part of committee activities involving external speakers or experts.
On 18 February, LIBE held a debate aimed to address the ongoing delays in the launch of the Entry/Exit System (EES), a critical element of the EU's border strategy and interoperability framework.
On 18 February, LIBE Members have exchanged on the topics of gender-based violence and the right to international protection of Afghan women and girls with representatives of the European Commission and the UNHCR Representation for EU Affairs.
In October 2023, the European Commission proposed the Migrant Smuggling Package, which includes a proposal for a Regulation on police cooperation and Europol support (Rapporteur Jeroen Lenaers, EPP) and a revision of the Facilitation Directive (Rapporteur Sippel, S&D). Notably, this package was introduced without an impact assessment.
On 27 January, Members exchanged with representatives from the Finnish Border Guard and the Commission, following the adoption in Finland of a temporary law, the Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalised Migration.
On 27 January, the LIBE Committee held an exchange of views on the "Statutes of limitation in the EU for crimes of child sexual abuse". The aim was to shed light on the importance of the (appropriate length) of the limitation period when dealing with child sexual abuse crimes.
On 2 December, LIBE Members discussed with representatives from the Hungarian Presidency of the Council and from the European Commission the ongoing hybrid attacks on EU borders by the Lukashenko and the Putin regimes. In recent years, Russia and Belarus have been deploying hybrid threats against the European Union, preying on the vulnerable and weaponising migration. This is a permanent strategy of Putin’s regime in the context of the cruel and unwarranted war of aggression against Ukraine.
In its meeting of 3 December, LIBE Members held a discussion on the EU Visa Policy with the Council Presidency and Commission’s representative. Ambassador Bálint Ódor, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU, and Beate Gminder, Acting Director-General, in the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission referred the nature of the common visa policy, its main elements and the latest legislative changes related to or with impact on EU Visa.
At the end of her mandate, Ombudswoman Emily O’Reilly provided an in-depth overview of the role and responsibilities of the European Ombudsman, highlighting the key aspects of her work. She highlighted several important inquiries undertaken during her tenure, including the examination of the 2017 EU-Turkey agreement, which focused primarily on issues surrounding Syrian refugees, as well as the recent EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding, signed in July 2023.
On 21 November, LIBE Members discussed with the Commission’s representative the implication of the Hungarian Government decree limiting access to housing of Ukrainian refugees in Hungary to those coming from combat areas in Ukraine.
From 4 to 12 November, the Commissioners-designate faced confirmation hearings before the European Parliament’s committees, in advance of Parliament’s vote on the College of Commissioners as a whole on 27 November.
The latest FRA Survey on Anti-Semitism conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency put in evidence a 96% of respondents who experienced antisemitism before 7 October 2023. The number of anti-Semitic acts has skyrocketed since the Hamas attacks last years, as underlined by both speakers at LIBE exchange of views on 17 October.
FRA’s Director Sirpa Rautio presented the main findings of the Agency’s latest Fundamental Rights Report, published in 2024. The presentation was structured on three main areas: external borders, democracy and civic space and cost of living.