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The European Union has a new legal framework for the protection of personal data processed by Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The underlying Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 repeals Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC which date back to the pre-Lisbon era and did not cover the processing of personal data within all Union institutions and bodies.

At its meeting of 6 December 2018, the JHA Council adopted its general approach to the proposed regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online. This proposal had been submitted by the European Commission on 12 September 2018, following a call by EU leaders in June. For the proposal, see eucrim 2/2018, pp. 97-98 and the article by G. Robinson.

On 12 December 2018, MEPs adopted a resolution that contains over 225 recommendations for tackling the threat of terrorism.

At its meeting of 4 December 2018, the ECOFIN Council adopted conclusions on an Anti-Money Laundering Action Plan. The ministers welcomed the progress made in preventing and combating money laundering in recent years, but call for further improvements, in particular as regards the (cross-border) exchange of information and collaboration between prudential and anti-money laundering supervisory authorities.

On 15 November 2018, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) adopted Opinion No 9/2018 on the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation establishing the EU Anti-Fraud Programme for the 2021-2027 financing period (for the proposal, see eucrim 2/2018, pp. 92-93).

On 7 December 2018, the Commission published the 2nd Action Plan to fight the illicit tobacco trade (Communication to the European Parliament and the Council, COM(2018) 846 final). The action plan covers the period 2018-2020. The Commission stresses that the illicit tobacco trade can only be curbed by a combination of policy and enforcement measures.

In November 2018, OLAF hosted the annual meeting of the Anti-Fraud Communicators' Network (OAFCN). Communication experts working for anti-fraud public organisations discussed crisis communication, the importance of storytelling, and real-life communication scenarios.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) Opinion welcomes certain approaches and concepts in the Commission proposal of 23 May 2018 amending OLAF Regulation 883/2013, but still sees some weaknesses preventing the two objectives from being met.

On 29 November 2018, the European Parliament (EP) adopted its negotiating position on the revision of the Schengen Borders Code. MEPs stressed that the revision must ensure the Schengen achievements and put an end to current misuse or misinterpretation when upholding internal border controls.

New alerts on criminals and return decisions; greater vigilance for terrorist offences; better protection for children at risk of abduction; and enhanced data protection. These are the main features of the new legal framework for the EU’s largest security database, the Schengen Information System (SIS).