Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has undertaken visits to three European capitals: Copenhagen, Paris and Brussels. Her visit to Copenhagen, along with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, was to attend the biannual U.S.-European Union Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting. Among the topics discussed at the meeting were “U.S.-EU efforts related to border management, countering violent extremism, law enforcement cooperation, global supply chain security, aviation security and cybersecurity.”

Joining Secretary Napolitano at the Ministerial meetings were EU Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding; EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström, Cyprus Minister of Justice and Public Order Loucas Louca; and Danish Minister of Justice Morten Bødskov. Denmark ends its six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union on June 30. Cyprus assumes the presidency on July 1 for six months.

The Department and the EU “have recently announced three international agreements to protect the global supply chain while facilitating legitimate trade and travel, including the recently ratified Passenger name Record (PNR) agreement between the United States and the European Union; the Mutual Recognition Decision between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program and the EU’s Authorized Economic Operator program; and the air cargo partnership between the Transportation Security Administration and the EU to mutually recognize their respective air cargo regimes.”

During the Secretary’s visit to Paris she met with the Secretary General for Defense and National Security (SGDN) Francis Delon and Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls. The SGDN is an interministerial office under the office of the Prime Minister of France. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for, among other missions, the general interior security of France.

In Brussels, Secretary Napolitano met with the Belgian Minister of the Interior Joëlle Milquet, senior representatives from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transportation Siim Kallas. The Secretary concluded her visit with a meeting with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya and discussed “international collaboration to secure the global supply chain while facilitating trade.”