On 13 June 2018, the representatives of the governments of the member states appointed two judges to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The following persons were appointed as judges for a term of office of six years, starting from 7 October 2018:

• Mr Irmantas Jarukaitis (Lithuania)
• Mr Peter George Xuereb (Malta)

The appointments were made as part of the partial renewal of the composition of the Court of Justice, which takes place every three years.

On 6 October 2018, the term of office of 14 judges and five advocates-general will expire. Nine judges and three advocates-general were appointed to the Court of Justice on 28 February 2018. Three judges and two advocates-general still have to be appointed in 2018.

The Court of Justice is composed of one judge from each member state and eleven advocates-general. The judges and advocates-general are appointed for a term of office of six years, which is renewable. Every three years a partial replacement of judges and advocates-general takes place.

The judges and advocates-general are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states after consultation of a panel responsible for giving an opinion on prospective candidates’ suitability to perform the duties concerned. They are chosen from among individuals whose independence is beyond doubt and who possess the qualifications required for appointment, in their respective countries, to the highest judicial offices, or who are of recognised competence.

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The Hague, 13 June 2018

Eurojust/Europol joint press release

Eurojust and Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre assisted the German and Danish national authorities in detecting and dismantling an organised crime group (OCG) that used sham marriages with EU citizens to grant permanent residence permits to illegal migrants from Asia.

Today, judicial and law enforcement authorities from Denmark and Germany as well as Europol experts worked together to tackle down the key players of the OCG. The joint operation was the result of an 18-month coordinated investigation in the framework of a joint investigation team (JIT). The JIT, established with the support of Eurojust, provided the necessary mutual legal assistance and helped considerably to simplify the cooperation between the national authorities. Eurojust also supplied funding for the JIT.

During the operation, which involved the execution of numerous houses searches in Germany and Denmark, the main structure and modus operandi of the OCG were identified and several OCG members were spotted in Hamburg.

The OCG helped non-EU nationals illegally enter, and stay in, the European Union by providing them with stolen and falsified identification documents, tourist visas that allow the holder to stay in the European Union for a maximum of 90 days, and even residence permits. However, their ultimate goal was to arrange sham marriages of EU citizens with those non-EU nationals in Denmark so that they could then apply for and obtain permanent EU residence permits.

In some cases, the marriage ceremonies took place in Mexico or the USA. In those States, marriage by proxy (where one or both partners are not present) is allowed and recognised, and a third party may deputise for the aspiring partners and sign the marriage certificate on their behalf.

The suspects ran several marriage bureaus and used agents to attract and recruit EU citizens willing to marry the smuggled non-EU nationals for remuneration, without having the obligation to live with their alleged partners.

The OCG, which has been active since 2015, is known to have smuggled approximately 1 200 migrants into the European Union, charging up to EUR 13 000 per person for its services. Its members are suspected of having committed the crimes of migrant smuggling, document forgery, incitement and assistance to bigamy, as well as bribery.

Europol supported the joint operation on the spot by performing cross-checks and real-time analysis of the information and telecommunication data provided by Member States’ officers. Eurojust and Europol supported the investigation from its early stages by facilitating the exchange of intelligence between the involved Member States, providing tailored analyses to the investigators and organising coordination meetings.

The Hague, 13 June 2018

Eurojust/Europol joint press release

Eurojust and Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre assisted the German and Danish national authorities in detecting and dismantling an organised crime group (OCG) that used sham marriages with EU citizens to grant permanent residence permits to illegal migrants from Asia.

Today, judicial and law enforcement authorities from Denmark and Germany as well as Europol experts worked together to tackle down the key players of the OCG. The joint operation was the result of an 18-month coordinated investigation in the framework of a joint investigation team (JIT). The JIT, established with the support of Eurojust, provided the necessary mutual legal assistance and helped considerably to simplify the cooperation between the national authorities. Eurojust also supplied funding for the JIT.

During the operation, which involved the execution of numerous houses searches in Germany and Denmark, the main structure and modus operandi of the OCG were identified and several OCG members were spotted in Hamburg.

The OCG helped non-EU nationals illegally enter, and stay in, the European Union by providing them with stolen and falsified identification documents, tourist visas that allow the holder to stay in the European Union for a maximum of 90 days, and even residence permits. However, their ultimate goal was to arrange sham marriages of EU citizens with those non-EU nationals in Denmark so that they could then apply for and obtain permanent EU residence permits.

In some cases, the marriage ceremonies took place in Mexico or the USA. In those States, marriage by proxy (where one or both partners are not present) is allowed and recognised, and a third party may deputise for the aspiring partners and sign the marriage certificate on their behalf.

The suspects ran several marriage bureaus and used agents to attract and recruit EU citizens willing to marry the smuggled non-EU nationals for remuneration, without having the obligation to live with their alleged partners.

The OCG, which has been active since 2015, is known to have smuggled approximately 1 200 migrants into the European Union, charging up to EUR 13 000 per person for its services. Its members are suspected of having committed the crimes of migrant smuggling, document forgery, incitement and assistance to bigamy, as well as bribery.

Europol supported the joint operation on the spot by performing cross-checks and real-time analysis of the information and telecommunication data provided by Member States’ officers. Eurojust and Europol supported the investigation from its early stages by facilitating the exchange of intelligence between the involved Member States, providing tailored analyses to the investigators and organising coordination meetings.

On 13 June EU ambassadors confirmed an agreement reached on 6 June 2018 between the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament representatives on modernising the existing rules on the provision of audiovisual media services in Europe.

Good policy-making involves ensuring that our rules are up to date and reflect modern technology. As a result of this agreement on audiovisual media services we will be better equipped to protect consumers and children, fight the spread of hate speech and safeguard media pluralism and independence.

Boil Banov, minister for culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and president of the Council

The proposal for a revision of the directive on the provision of audiovisual media services in the light of changing market realities (AVMSD) was presented by the Commission in 2016 after a thorough evaluation of the previous 2010 AVMSD.

This evaluation highlighted the need to ensure a level playing field between the traditional broadcasting sector i.e. television, and new services like video on-demand services, video-sharing platforms, and the audiovisual content on social networks, to better protect viewers, encourage innovation and promote European audiovisual content.

The new rules will:

• create a level playing field between all operators in protecting viewers, independently from the service they provide and the platform they use. This means that users will get equal protection whether they are watching a film on traditional tv or an on-demand tv. Moreover the protection of minors and all users from violent or harmful content, as well as hate speech, will be improved by introducing a clear responsibility for video-sharing platforms. Member states will be able to take action through their national audiovisual regulators against those operators not respecting the rules
• increase cultural diversity and promote European content, as providers of on-demand audiovisual media services will have to ensure that at least 30% of their catalogues consist of European content and that this is given adequate prominence
• free up resources to be invested in the production of European content as member states may require a financial contribution from tv and on-demand media service providers, including those established in another member state, with exemptions that could make life easier for start-ups and small companies
• improve cooperation between member states’ audiovisual authorities by strengthening the European regulators group for audiovisual media services (ERGA) and setting out its role in EU law
• guarantee flexibility as member states will be able to adapt the rules to national circumstances and even adopt stricter rules if they so wish

Now that the agreement has been confirmed by EU ambassadors on behalf of the Council, the directive will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading, and subsequently to the Council for adoption.

The directive will enter into force on the 20th day after its publication on the Official Journal of the EU and member states will have 21 months to transpose it into national legislation.

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On 13 June 2018 EU ambassadors meeting in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) confirmed an agreement reached on 5 June between the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council and European Parliament representatives on a regulation on veterinary medicines.

The agreement paves the way for a new system of rules that will improve the availability of these medicines, enhance competitiveness and innovation in the veterinary pharmaceutical sector and contribute to the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the ability of bacteria to render the antibiotics used to treat infections ineffective.

Today is a good day for both animal and public health. New smart EU rules will give us robust tools to prevent the abuse of antibiotics and limit the risk of the development of antimicrobial resistance. At the same time it will stimulate innovation and will lead to increased availability and easier access to veterinary medicines for veterinarians, farmers and pet owners that really need medicines to treat and prevent animal diseases.

Rumen Porodzanov, minister of agriculture, food and forestry of the Republic of Bulgaria and president of the Council

The current legal framework for the marketing authorisation, distribution and use of veterinary medicines is set out in directive 2001/82/EC and regulation 726/2004.
Over time operators have underlined the limitations of these rules especially in relation to availability of medicines for limited markets (e.g. for bees) and the lack of innovation connected to the heavy administrative burden linked to the authorisation procedure. At the same time awareness of the risks associated with antimicrobial resistance has grown and the efforts to combat it have been stepped up.

The decision on a new framework comes after four years of intense technical work carried out by the three EU institutions to make sure that the new rules meet the needs of the market, and are legally watertight. Some of their main elements are:

Simplification and innovation: the new regulation clarifies and simplifies the procedures through which a marketing authorisation can be granted to new medicines, thereby reducing the administrative burden for companies, especially small ones. It also increases the protection for the initial marketing authorisation for limited markets (including for minor species), so as to incentivise research and innovation and increase the availability of effective medicines on the market.

AMR: the new rules better frame the use of antimicrobials in animals by limiting the use of antibiotics for animals that are not yet sick but may run the risk of falling ill, both in the case of

• prophylaxis: the exceptional administration of antibiotics to an individual animal only, where the risk of a disease is very high and when its consequences are likely to be severe – e.g. after surgery; and
• metaphylaxis: the administration of antibiotics to a group of animals – e.g. herds and flocks – where the risk of bacterial infection or disease is high and no other appropriate alternatives are available.

Moreover the new rules will provide for certain critical antimicrobials to be set aside for the treatment of certain infections in humans in order to preserve their effectiveness.

Imports: the new regulation improves the protection of the European consumers against the risk of the spreading of AMR through imports of products of animal origin. It also creates a level playing field between EU and third country operators insofar as the latter will have to respect the ban on antibiotics for growth promotion, as well as the restriction on antimicrobials reserved for use in humans.

Pharmacovigilance and controls: the process of detection and prevention of the adverse effects of veterinary medicines will be strengthened and uniform controls across the EU will be enforced.

Now that the agreement has been confirmed by EU ambassadors on behalf of the Council, the regulation will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading, and will subsequently go back to the Council for adoption.

The new rules will apply at latest in 2022.

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