Main results of the Council
The Council discussed migration issues in relation to developments in the Southern Neighbourhood Region. Ministers addressed, in particular, the follow-up to the Council conclusions on the management of migration from the Southern Neighbourhood of 11 12 April 2011 and the Commission communication on migration of 4 May 2011.
The Council also had a first exchange of views on the Commission's evaluation of and future strategy for EU readmission agreements with third countries, published in February 2011.
The Council took note of a Commission presentation on its evaluation of the EU data retention directive, published in April 2011. At the request of Belgium and in light of the nuclear accident in Japan, the Council was then briefed by the Commission on the situation in Japan, and had an exchange of views on how to strengthen further the Union's ability to respond to nuclear incidents, mainly within the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
Preceding the Council session, the Mixed Committee (the EU plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) discussed migration issues in relation to developments in the Southern Neighbourhood Region as described above. It also looked at the state-of-play of discussions on the revision of the Frontex regulation, the rules concerning the European external borders agency Frontex.