Check against delivery!

Thank you very much and thanks to you and to the Secretary General of the United Nations [António Guterres] for convening this meeting and also for having this focus on the humanitarian situation. Just a few weeks ago in Brussels, we gathered some of the key partners and key donors that are around this table exactly to focus on how we can step up our humanitarian support to face the risk of famine now.

The European Union, as you know well, is by far the first donor for Somalia in all different sectors. When it comes to our response to the drought, it amounts to over €460 million; still we know that this is not enough and that we need to mobilise more resources. We will do our part, we will continue to do our part, but we need others to come in and increase the level of support if we want to avoid the catastrophe.

We believe also that the availability of resources is not the only challenge we are facing in Somalia when it comes to the risk of famine. Insecurity, access constraints, extortions of aid are among the biggest obstacles to deliver aid to the most needy. Restrictive access remains for us the major impediment for the roll out of full relief operations covering the majority of the needs.

We also have a concern about the visibility of the return process of up to 250 000 Somali refugees living in Kenyan refugee camps in the current context of severe droughts.

Beyond human suffering, we believe it is important – as the Secretary General mentioned – to contain the political risks. We are in a delicate moment for the institutions, the government, which is very much absorbed by the impact of the droughts while it has started its process only a few months after the inauguration of the President. We believe it is essential that we support and help the government to be seen delivering on the expectations of the population and remain focused also on the other critical political and security challenges the population needs to find answers to because there are somehow interrelated.

Two last things. One is the regional dimension; we are focusing on Somalia here because assisting Somalia at this moment also means assisting its neighbours to limit the spill over. Yet each country in the region, and particularly Ethiopia and Kenya, deserve specific attention and support. We should not forget it.

And, last but not least, we need to take climate change more seriously. This is true in general political terms – and I discussed this in the UN with the Secretary General in the last days- but also in our projections for the region.

Secondly, only stability and development can create an environment in which natural disasters can be coped with. And this is why the rest of the conference today will be also so important.

I thank you.

Brussels, 11 May 2017

Today, the President of Eurojust, Ms Michèle Coninsx, presented the Eurojust Annual Report 2016 at a hearing of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament (LIBE Committee), followed by a question and answer session with LIBE Committee members on topics ranging from radicalisation, freezing and confiscation, the European Arrest Warrant, harmonisation of legislation, and complementarity with other agencies.

Ms Coninsx highlighted the operational, strategic and tactical work of Eurojust. The year 2016 has been challenging in the security context. Eurojust has stepped up its activities to counter terrorism, cybercrime and serious organised crime, including illegal immigrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. To do so, Eurojust connects and cooperates with practitioners’ networks, the centres at Europol and its network of judicial contact points in third States. Eurojust was involved in the judicial response to all the terrorist attacks in 2016, ensuring speedy mutual legal assistance in 2 306 cases, support to 148 joint investigation teams and assistance with the execution of more than three hundred European Arrest Warrants. Three hundred cases involved third States.

Ms Coninsx said: ‘Eurojust is a bridge-maker and trusted partner of the Member States, the EU institutions, other agencies and international organisations. Security demands both actions and reactions. Eurojust ensures quick reactions to crimes and criminal networks. I wish to thank the European Parliament for their financial and moral support.’

The Eurojust Annual Report is now available in English, and all 24 official EU language versions will be on our website in late summer.

Related links:

Photo: © European Union 2017

Note to readers: Due to maintenance in preparation for the move to the new Eurojust premises, the Eurojust website will not be available on 13 and 14 May 2017. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Brussels, 11 May 2017

Today, the President of Eurojust, Ms Michèle Coninsx, presented the Eurojust Annual Report 2016 at a hearing of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament (LIBE Committee), followed by a question and answer session with LIBE Committee members on topics ranging from radicalisation, freezing and confiscation, the European Arrest Warrant, harmonisation of legislation, and complementarity with other agencies.

Ms Coninsx highlighted the operational, strategic and tactical work of Eurojust. The year 2016 has been challenging in the security context. Eurojust has stepped up its activities to counter terrorism, cybercrime and serious organised crime, including illegal immigrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. To do so, Eurojust connects and cooperates with practitioners’ networks, the centres at Europol and its network of judicial contact points in third States. Eurojust was involved in the judicial response to all the terrorist attacks in 2016, ensuring speedy mutual legal assistance in 2 306 cases, support to 148 joint investigation teams and assistance with the execution of more than three hundred European Arrest Warrants. Three hundred cases involved third States.

Ms Coninsx said: ‘Eurojust is a bridge-maker and trusted partner of the Member States, the EU institutions, other agencies and international organisations. Security demands both actions and reactions. Eurojust ensures quick reactions to crimes and criminal networks. I wish to thank the European Parliament for their financial and moral support.’

The Eurojust Annual Report is now available in English, and all 24 official EU language versions will be on our website in late summer.

Related links:

Photo: © European Union 2017

Note to readers: Due to maintenance in preparation for the move to the new Eurojust premises, the Eurojust website will not be available on 13 and 14 May 2017. We apologise for any inconvenience.

​The Hague, 8 September 2014

EN  /  DE

Eurojust is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Klaus Meyer-Cabri as the National Member for Germany at Eurojust. In accordance with Article 2(1) of the Eurojust Decision, Mr Meyer-Cabri’s appointment is subject to approval by the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union. Mr Meyer-Cabri officially took up his duties at Eurojust on 1 September.

Following his appointment, Mr Meyer-Cabri said: ‘When I began working in Brussels, one of my first dossiers was the initial Eurojust regulation establishing this very organisation. Therefore, it is not only an honour to join Eurojust, but also a real personal pleasure to continue my intensive EU and international work with an organisation that has proved to create added value in the fight against serious cross-border and organised crime. I am very much looking forward to working with my colleagues from the other 27 National Desks to continue and enhance the German contribution to Eurojust’s success story. I am delighted to be based in the Netherlands, which is a second home to me, and especially in The Hague, as The Hague is the International City of Peace and Justice.’

Throughout his career, Mr Meyer-Cabri has made an important contribution to fostering and improving legal cooperation among the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Member States of the European Union. Mr Meyer-Cabri has been employed at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection since 1996, where he was the Head of the EU Coordination Division, following which he became Head of the Office for EU Justice Policy and International Cooperation. Additionally, he has a strong interest in the protection of intellectual property, resulting from his work with the International Section of the Patent and Trademark Office. As a junior lawyer, Mr Meyer-Cabri served at the Office of Public Prosecution in Berlin, focusing on drug-related crime.

Significantly, Mr Meyer-Cabri has gathered a great deal of international experience due to his many years as a Legal Councillor at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union in Brussels, where he was heavily involved in the preparatory work to establish Eurojust.

In 2013, the German National Desk at Eurojust registered 32 bilateral and 21 multilateral cases, and attended 14 bilateral and 51 multilateral coordination meetings.

Photo © Eurojust: A high-resolution photograph of Mr Meyer-Cabri is available from the above contact at Eurojust

​The Hague, 8 September 2014

EN  /  DE

Eurojust is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Klaus Meyer-Cabri as the National Member for Germany at Eurojust. In accordance with Article 2(1) of the Eurojust Decision, Mr Meyer-Cabri’s appointment is subject to approval by the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union. Mr Meyer-Cabri officially took up his duties at Eurojust on 1 September.

Following his appointment, Mr Meyer-Cabri said: ‘When I began working in Brussels, one of my first dossiers was the initial Eurojust regulation establishing this very organisation. Therefore, it is not only an honour to join Eurojust, but also a real personal pleasure to continue my intensive EU and international work with an organisation that has proved to create added value in the fight against serious cross-border and organised crime. I am very much looking forward to working with my colleagues from the other 27 National Desks to continue and enhance the German contribution to Eurojust’s success story. I am delighted to be based in the Netherlands, which is a second home to me, and especially in The Hague, as The Hague is the International City of Peace and Justice.’

Throughout his career, Mr Meyer-Cabri has made an important contribution to fostering and improving legal cooperation among the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection and the Member States of the European Union. Mr Meyer-Cabri has been employed at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection since 1996, where he was the Head of the EU Coordination Division, following which he became Head of the Office for EU Justice Policy and International Cooperation. Additionally, he has a strong interest in the protection of intellectual property, resulting from his work with the International Section of the Patent and Trademark Office. As a junior lawyer, Mr Meyer-Cabri served at the Office of Public Prosecution in Berlin, focusing on drug-related crime.

Significantly, Mr Meyer-Cabri has gathered a great deal of international experience due to his many years as a Legal Councillor at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union in Brussels, where he was heavily involved in the preparatory work to establish Eurojust.

In 2013, the German National Desk at Eurojust registered 32 bilateral and 21 multilateral cases, and attended 14 bilateral and 51 multilateral coordination meetings.

Photo © Eurojust: A high-resolution photograph of Mr Meyer-Cabri is available from the above contact at Eurojust