At the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 13 June 2025, the home affairs ministers of the EU Member States conducted an initial assessment of the Commission's new internal security strategy "ProtectEU" that was presented on 1 April 2025 (→ eucrim news of 29 April 2025 and the article by E. Sason, C. Monti & P. Olivares-Martinez, "Security – A Firm Construct or an Undetermined Concept?" in eucrim 1/2025). They broadly welcomed ProtectEU as an important contribution to strengthening the EU’s internal security and they supported the proposed concepts of combining security with preparedness and reinforcing cooperation with non-EU countries.

A controversial issue remains access to data for law enforcement - also an important element in the ProtectEU strategy. Despite criticism of the EU's approach from civil society (→eucrim news of 29 April 2025 - Update), the ministers reiterated their standpoint that short-term measures should be set up to facilitate access to data and support law enforcement’s efforts to fight crime (→ Council conclusions of 12 December 2024 →eucrim 4/2024, 270-271). The Commission was asked to urgently present the requested roadmap on access to data. This roadmap is expected to set out legal and practical measures to ensure lawful and effective access to data.

The viewpoint of the home affairs ministers was also backed by the heads of state or government at the European Council summit on 26 June 2025. In their conclusions on internal security, they invited the EU institutions and the Member States "to take further action where necessary, notably by strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation, including on effective access to data for law enforcement purposes, and by ensuring information exchange and through cooperation with third countries." The European Council also called on the EU institutions and the Member States "to mobilise all relevant policy areas at national and EU level and to fully use all existing instruments" to combat serious and organised crime, and terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism as well as the criminal infiltration of legal business structures.