Josef Moser at EU-US Justice Ministerial Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Strengthening of transatlantic cooperation – together against cross‑border crime

Reforms and Justice Minister Josef Moser travelled to Washington, D.C. this week to attend the EU‑US Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs. The meeting aimed at strengthening the transatlantic partnership and continuing judicial cooperation.

“We must ensure cross‑border security; that is why an intensive exchange between the US and the EU is of vital importance. Our cooperation allows the law enforcement and judicial authorities of the EU and the US to smoothly collaborate”,

said Moser. The meeting also focused on new challenges such as data misuse in connection with elections, e‑evidence and cybersecurity.

“We also want to effectively counter these challenges together. We must move with the times and adapt the legal framework to our current situation and tasks”,

the Justice Minister stressed.

Free and fair elections are our top priority

Ongoing digitalisation gives rise to increasingly more possibilities to provide targeted disinformation.

“Safeguarding and upholding our democratic values is a major challenge. In this regard, free and fair elections are a key element and the EU’s top priority”,

said Constitutional Minister Moser at the meeting. For this reason, the EU wants to find ways to protect the functioning of our democracies, ensure the safety of our democratic systems and counter misinformation.

“Today, we were able to reach an agreement with our American colleagues to establish a regular dialogue on these matters to maintain the systematic exchange of information and try and find solutions to jointly combat election manipulation”,

emphasised Moser.

E‑evidence: Improved cross‑border access to electronic evidence

Another topic of discussion was “e‑evidence”, the aim of which is to improve cross‑border access to electronic evidence. This, in turn, should help to effectively combat internet crime or criminal offenses that are committed using the internet, in particular fraud, drug trafficking, but also terrorism.

In recent years, there has also been a constant increase in cybercrime. In order to solve these crimes, authorities require quick access to electronic evidence that is often stored by online services in another country.

“We are currently doing everything we can to advance the relevant negotiations within the EU and reach a general approach by December 2018. It is crystal clear that we can only fight organised crime if we expand cooperation with the US as well”,

noted Moser.

More efficient law enforcement through encryption

Participants also discussed encryption.

“Our law enforcement and judicial authorities must also be granted access to encrypted data when conducting criminal investigations – and this must be done without prohibiting, limiting or weaken encryption. We must do everything in our power to fight crime efficiently”,

said Moser.

Press release of the Council of the European Union (EN)