The EU Council's Working Party on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (COPEN) is scheduled to meet on 20 July 2026 in Brussels to adopt an agenda covering mutual evaluations, EU positions on international conventions, and a cooperation agreement with Colombia. The meeting, set for 10:30 in the Council's LEX Building in a 2+2 format, will address a range of criminal law cooperation issues.
According to the notice of meeting and provisional agenda published by the Council on 13 July 2026, the working party will examine and adopt country reports from the 11th round of mutual evaluations on Bulgaria (document 10253/26), Austria (10628/26), and Germany (10629/26). These evaluations assess how member states implement EU criminal law instruments. The Presidency will also provide information on preparations for the 12th round (WK 10450/26), and Belgium has submitted a non-paper (WK 10466/26) on the choice of topics for that round.
On international conventions, the working party will continue examining a Council Decision establishing EU positions for third-party accession to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (documents 9081/26 + ADD 1, 10556/26). The European Commission will present proposals for signing the additional protocol to the Warsaw Convention on the prevention of terrorism (CETS no. 198, documents 11726/26, 11730/26). Additionally, the Commission will introduce a non-paper on difficulties in preparing proposals for the signature or conclusion of the Council of Europe convention on the protection of the lawyer profession (WK 10374/26).
The agenda also includes continued examination of a draft agreement between the EU and Colombia on Eurojust cooperation (WK 10373/26). The Presidency will present an updated overview of ongoing and proposed international negotiations in criminal law (WK 10376/26).
The meeting advances several dossiers that will require further approval by the Council of the EU. The mutual evaluation reports, once adopted by the working party, will be forwarded to the Article 36 Committee and then to the Council for formal endorsement. The EU positions on the Budapest Convention and the Warsaw Convention protocol will need to be adopted by the Council after the European Parliament's consent. The Eurojust-Colombia agreement will require Council authorisation for signature and conclusion, followed by parliamentary scrutiny.
Stakeholders impacted include EU member states' judicial authorities, which will be assessed through mutual evaluations and may need to adjust practices. The legal profession could be affected by the proposed convention on lawyer protection, potentially altering professional standards across the EU. Eurojust's operational capacity will benefit from enhanced cooperation with Colombia, facilitating cross-border criminal investigations. Cybercrime and terrorism prevention efforts may gain from expanded EU positions on international conventions, though third-party accession processes remain subject to member state consensus.