On 13-14 October 2022, the Justice and Home Affairs Council met in Luxembourg. The war in Ukraine was again in the focus. Topics included the judicial responses and the fight against impunity in Ukraine, the situation of Ukrainian refugees in the EU and the implications of the war on internal security.

In addition, the Ministers of Justice discussed, inter alia, the following items:

• Judicial training and its impact on access to justice in the context of the rule of law (→ separate news item);
• Progress made on the draft directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law (→ eucrim 4/2021, 219);
• Latest developments in the functioning of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and discussion on the possible extension of its mandate to cover the protection of violations of EU sanctions;
• Upholding fundamental rights in times of crises.

In the area of home affairs, Ministers for home affairs exchanged views on these topics:

• Overall state of the Schengen area, with a particular focus on the managements of external borders;
• The state of play regarding the enlargement of the Schengen area without internal borders to Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia;
• The state of play of the EU’s reform in the area of asylum and migration;
• Recent developments in migrations over the Western Balkan route;
• Progress made on the implementation of interoperability.

Lastly, ministers were updated on the state of play of several legislative proposals in the area justice and home affairs.