Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco traveled to Brussels last week to lead the U.S. delegation at the U.S.-EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial and reaffirm the Justice Department’s commitment to a critical alliance that combats shared risks to global security.
The Ministerial brings together leadership from the Justice and Home Affairs Ministries of the European Union and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to strengthen transatlantic collaboration. The Ministers focused on addressing persistent threats to their nations, including organized crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and foreign malign influence—especially by nation-states seeking to sow discord and further their autocratic agendas amid this year’s global elections when over four billion people are expected to vote. They also discussed international law enforcement collaboration to disrupt trafficking of cocaine and synthetic drugs, particularly fentanyl, as well as AI—including AI’s potential to enhance law enforcement operations and the risk that it could supercharge criminal activity.
During the Ministerial, officials reaffirmed their resolute support for Ukraine and unwavering resolve to hold Russia accountable for war crimes, atrocities, and the crime of aggression. They reiterated the need for sustained coordination between the U.S. and EU to deprive the Russian war machine of funding and supplies—with Deputy AG underscoring successful efforts by the Department’s Disruptive Technology Strike Force and Task Force KleptoCapture to enforce export controls and sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia for its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. The officials also emphasized their commitment to supporting anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.
While in Brussels, Deputy AG convened an international meeting of the Justice Department’s Justice AI Initiative with Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Eva Maydell and leaders from the European Parliament, which recently passed the EU AI Act—the first comprehensive legislative framework to govern the integration of AI into society. Launched by Deputy AG Monaco earlier this year, Justice AI brings together stakeholders across civil society, industry, academia, and government to share expertise and a wide range of perspectives on both the promise of AI and its misuse.
Deputy AG Monaco discussed how AI is changing how crimes are committed in both the United States and Europe—from intensifying cyberattacks, making fraud scams more believable, creating child sexual abuse material. They also focused on malign state actors using AI to undermine global elections this year; MEPs shared observations from recent European elections. Deputy AG underscored that the Justice Department will remain vigilant against foreign adversaries abusing AI to accelerate online hate, disinformation, imitate trusted sources of information, proliferate deepfakes.
During her trip, Deputy AG held bilateral meetings with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and Belgian Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt to highlight areas for continued collaboration between the Justice Department and European partners. She met with United States Ambassador to the European Union Mark Gitenstein and United States Ambassador to Belgium Michael Adler; she also visited U.S. Mission to EU & U.S. Embassy in Belgium for a briefing with U.S. officials on work with European allies & thanked them for service.
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