On 15 June, for the first time, Justice and Home Affairs Counsellors from 22 Member States visited Eurojust, accompanied by representatives of the Council and the Commission and the Minister of the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to the European Union. They met with the President, Ladislav Hamran, the Vice-President, Klaus Meyer-Cabri, and members of the Eurojust National Desks.

The purpose of their visit to The Hague was to get more first-hand knowledge about the roles and competences of Eurojust via presentations on migrant smuggling, terrorism and cybercrime cases in which Eurojust has played a major coordinating role, and insight into operational tools, institutional developments and budget-related matters.

The Counsellors were also given the opportunity to speak personally with the National Members from their Member States in bilateral meetings.

By visiting Eurojust, the Counsellors displayed their willingness to get a better idea of the challenges faced by Eurojust in the fight against serious organised cross-border crime. Those challenges include the increased demand for assistance by the national authorities (a 10 per cent increase over 2016), and the increased demand for funding of joint investigation teams.

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