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Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe

CCBE

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe represents over 1 million European lawyers across 31 member countries and advocates for legal principles underpinning democracy and the rule of law.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Michael McGrath (Commissioner) and

6 Jan 2026 · Exchange of views on the legal profession

CCBE Urges EU Anti-Poverty Strategy to Include Legal Aid

24 Oct 2025
Topic — The EU is developing its first-ever strategy to address the root causes of poverty.
Message — The CCBE demands that the strategy explicitly recognize access to justice through state-funded legal aid. Governments must provide sufficient funding to ensure equal access to lawyers for disadvantaged persons. They request that inflation be reflected in fee-setting to maintain the scope of services.123
Why — Adequate state funding ensures the economic viability and sustainability of legal aid providers.4
Impact — National governments may face increased financial pressure to sustain legal aid budgets.5
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European lawyers demand priority for legal aid in migration strategy

6 Oct 2025
Topic — The consultation concerns the development of the first five-year European asylum and migration strategy.
Message — The CCBE demands that the strategy prioritizes access to high-quality legal representation and early legal aid. They call for strict monitoring of legal counselling to ensure it is provided only by independent, qualified professionals.123
Why — Professional lawyers would benefit from increased funding for specialized training and more proportionate remuneration rates.45
Impact — Unqualified advisors and non-independent bodies would be excluded from providing legal counselling under stricter standards.6
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Meeting with Malik Azmani (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

15 Sept 2025 · Return Regulation

European Lawyers Urge Protection in New Civil Society Strategy

3 Sept 2025
Topic — The European Commission is developing a strategy to strengthen and protect EU civil society.
Message — The CCBE demands that lawyers be recognized as essential civil society actors and protected from rising harassment. They call for the rapid ratification of an international convention to safeguard the legal profession’s independence. They also advocate for better-resourced national legal aid systems and improved consultation processes.123
Why — This would provide lawyers with stronger safety guarantees and shield them from potential criminalization.45
Impact — Authorities seeking to suppress legal challenges or restrict migration assistance would lose political leverage.6
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CCBE urges protection of legal professional privilege in cloud

3 Jul 2025
Topic — Consultation on a proposed regulation to expand EU cloud and AI infrastructure.
Message — The CCBE recommends classifying justice as critical infrastructure to protect the rule of law. They advocate for procedures that identify privileged legal data to ensure confidentiality. New regulations should not include technical vulnerabilities that compromise professional secrecy.123
Why — This would shield lawyers from broad data collection by government agencies.4
Impact — Law enforcement agencies would see their investigatory powers curtailed by stricter safeguards.5
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Response to Digital Justice Strategy 2025 - 2030

23 Jun 2025

The CCBE welcomes the opportunity to provide its feedback in this call for evidence and would like to offer its expertise and readiness for future engagement in the development of the proposed EU Digital Justice Strategy, as well as in its future implementation. Please find our input in the attached document.
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European lawyers demand strict client privacy in data rules

18 Jun 2025
Topic — EU assessment of rules for service providers retaining metadata for criminal investigations.
Message — The CCBE demands explicit protection for lawyer-client confidentiality and independent judicial oversight for data access. They advocate for minimal retention periods and specific safeguards against interference with fundamental rights.12
Why — Protecting these privileges ensures that lawyer-client communications remain confidential and legally secure.3
Impact — Law enforcement agencies would face more stringent limits and procedural hurdles when accessing data.4
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Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament)

8 May 2025 · EU-US eEvidence

Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Amnesty International Limited and

17 Mar 2025 · Facilitation directive; entry-exit-system

CCBE urges protection of lawyer-client confidentiality in security strategy

12 Mar 2025
Topic — The consultation shapes a comprehensive strategy to strengthen the EU's internal security and law enforcement.
Message — The CCBE demands that the strategy strictly respect the rule of law and lawyer-client confidentiality. They call for prior judicial authorization for surveillance and exclusion of illegally obtained data.12
Why — These safeguards would preserve essential trust and prevent state interference in legal defense.3
Impact — Law enforcement agencies would face stricter limits on using broad definitions to justify surveillance.4
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Meeting with Axel Voss (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Feb 2025 · eJustice

European lawyers urge preservation of existing cross-border legal rules

30 Jan 2025
Topic — The European Commission is developing a strategy to remove service trade barriers.
Message — The CCBE requests that current laws governing the legal profession remain unchanged. They argue these rules are efficient and should be a special exception.12
Why — Maintaining the status quo protects lawyers from new bureaucracy and potential oversight.3
Impact — The Commission's push for a unified services market is slowed by professional exemptions.45
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Meeting with René Repasi (Member of the European Parliament)

23 Jan 2025 · Exchange on Legal Affairs

Meeting with Dan Dionisie (Head of Unit Justice and Consumers)

20 Jan 2025 · 28th regime

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jan 2025 · Implementation of the pact on asylum and migration

CCBE urges stronger defense rights in EU prosecution review

24 Oct 2024
Topic — This evaluation assesses the implementation and impact of the European Public Prosecutor's Office.
Message — The CCBE requests explicit European-level procedural safeguards and uniform rules for evidence gathering. They also demand digital access to the Case Management System for defense lawyers.123
Why — Uniform standards would help lawyers provide consistent legal protection across member states.4
Impact — Prosecution timelines could be delayed by new requirements for synchronized files and translations.5
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Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament) and Amnesty International Limited and

16 Oct 2024 · Cooperation on LIBE related matters

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Save the Children Europe and

13 Sept 2024 · Child sexual abuse directive

Response to Evaluation of Administrative Cooperation in Direct Taxation

29 Jul 2024

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) would like to provide the following comments with a distinction between its assessment of DAC 1-5 on the one hand, and DAC 6 on the other hand. The purpose of DAC 1-5 is essentially to regulate administrative cooperation between the tax authorities of the Member States in the area of direct taxation and to enable requests for official investigations in other Member States. Most of the data and information collected and exchanged under the DAC, especially under the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) pursuant to DAC 3, provides Member State authorities with information relevant to the objective of the Directive (combat tax fraud and tax evasion). They have a significant positive impact on the efficiency of the tax system for European Union (EU) citizens and businesses. However, this is not the case for DAC 6. First, the directive should be reviewed as to whether the method of reference to hallmarks is practicable and efficient. In our view, this is not the case. Second, this directive should also be reviewed to verify whether all hallmarks are useful. They should furthermore be clarified. In the current legal state, in some Member States the provisions of the Directive transposed into the national law (e.g. Poland or Belgium) do not allow for a clear and succinct definition of taxpayers' reporting obligations. This leads, on the one hand, to taxpayers just in case providing useless information or information that the tax administration already has in its possession by way of enforcement of ancillary legal mechanisms. On the other hand, it is by no means certain that a taxpayer can be effectively held liable for failure to provide relevant information due to the aforementioned uncertainty as to the scope of his obligations. It therefore creates in addition to legal uncertainty - an unnecessary compliance and filing burden for the taxpayers without granting to the Member States authorities useful or relevant information and data to effectively combat tax fraud and tax evasion (compared to any of the other means and materials resulting from DAC 1-5). Moreover, the provision regarding reporting by intermediaries (Article 8ab par.5) should be reviewed in order to include an obligation for Member States to foresee a waiver from filling information for persons subject to professional secrecy/legal professional privilege. In addition, the EU legislators should take into account recent developments of the case law of the Court of Justice regarding DAC 6. Furthermore, since the mandatory application of DAC 6 came into force, no amendment and/or revision of the hallmarks has been undertaken and as a result, it is our understanding that no additional and/or significant potentially aggressive cross-border tax planning arrangements have been further identified. Therefore, the question arises as to whether the high administrative costs associated with DAC 6 can be justified at all, both on the part of the tax authorities and on the part of the taxpayers and the stated intermediaries (especially lawyers). Further comments are provided by the CCBE in its answer to the public consultation on the same topic. In addition, as DAC assessment and many answers to the public consultation questionnaire depend on the national implementation, the CCBE would like to refer the Commission to separate answers given by the national bars.
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Meeting with Erik Marquardt (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Digital Rights and

13 Feb 2024 · Facilitators Package - stakeholders’ consultation meeting

Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Jan 2024 · EU/US eEvidence COM(2019) 70 final

Meeting with Maria-Manuel Leitão-Marques (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Fleishman-Hillard and Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation

4 Sept 2023 · Upgrading Digital Company Law

Response to Upgrading digital company law

5 Jun 2023

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 46 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE responds regularly on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and lawyers. You will find attached the CCBE comments (English / French) in response to the Commissions proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2009/102/EC and (EU) 2017/1132 as regards further expanding and upgrading the use of digital tools and processes in company law. While supporting the objectives put forward by the proposal, the CCBE has identified several provisions (see attached) of the proposal where we see a need for further clarification and amendments. Kind regards,
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Meeting with Birgit Sippel (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

2 May 2023 · EU-US eEvidence (staff level)

Meeting with Sophia In 'T Veld (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

10 Oct 2022 · Pegasus inquiry

Meeting with Petar Vitanov (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Banking Federation

9 Mar 2022 · AI Act

Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and

3 Mar 2022 · Rule of law

Meeting with Luděk Niedermayer (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Transparency International Liaison Office to the European Union

18 Feb 2022 · Shadows meeting on 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Transparency International Liaison Office to the European Union

18 Feb 2022 · Shadows meeting on 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive

Response to Revision of EU rules on Anti-Money Laundering (new instrument)

2 Nov 2021

The CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The organisation supports the fight against money laundering and has been actively engaged in countering existing and potential risks. Following the publication of the AML package, the CCBE elaborated preliminary comments on the package (attached). These preliminary comments constitute a first reaction regarding the package and the CCBE is currently working on a more detailed position paper.
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Response to Revision of EU rules on Anti-Money Laundering (recast)

2 Nov 2021

The CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The organisation supports the fight against money laundering and has been actively engaged in countering existing and potential risks. Following the publication of the AML package, the CCBE elaborated preliminary comments on the package (attached). These preliminary comments constitute a first reaction regarding the package and the CCBE is currently working on a more detailed position paper.
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Response to EU Anti-money laundering supervisor

2 Nov 2021

The CCBE represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The organisation supports the fight against money laundering and has been actively engaged in countering existing and potential risks. Following the publication of the AML package, the CCBE elaborated preliminary comments on the package (attached). These preliminary comments constitute a first reaction regarding the package and the CCBE is currently working on a more detailed position paper.
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Response to Digital Services Act: deepening the Internal Market and clarifying responsibilities for digital services

31 Mar 2021

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE responds regularly on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and lawyers. With this paper, the CCBE wished to further develop its position in relation to several aspects of the DSA and the DMA proposals. In its attached position paper, the CCBE raises the following issues: - (Recital 78/98) : the need to ensure the protection of professional secrecy and legal professional privilege for all the provisions of the DSA concerning the powers entrusted to the competent authorities, i.e. not only the Digital Services Coordinators and other national authority but also the European Commission. - (Article 2 lit d): it should be considered to replace the "significant number of users" with a threshold value, a minimum size would create more certainty for providers, as the Regulation imposes numerous obligations. - (Article 8-9): regarding orders to act against illegal content and to provide information, the CCBE considers that the reference to national criminal law is too restrictive. The framework of procedural guarantees provided by these provisions should be broader. Such guarantees must also take into account fundamental rights and principles. It could also be mentioned that under no circumstances may an order to provide information be issued to obtain information covered by professional secrecy or legal professional privilege. -(Article 17-18): With regards to the information incompatible with the online platforms’ terms and conditions, the CCBE notes that, in order to guarantee the user's right of defence in the internal complaint-handling system set forth in Article 17, in out of court dispute mechanism set forth in Article 18, and also in a Court proceeding it is necessary that the terms and conditions of the online platforms/service providers/social network are easily accessible and understandable by users. The CCBE stresses that the conditions of “clear and fair rules of procedure” should be more developed and that the dispute settlement system provided for in the DSA shall not deprive the parties of their right to independent advice or to be represented or assisted by a lawyer at any stage of the procedure. - (Chapter IV): The CCBE would like to stress that the provisions of the DSA are unclear regarding the relationship and the respective powers of competent authorities under the proposed regulation. In particular, the scope of intervention of the European Commission and the national regulatory authority seems to overlap. The CCBE stresses that the multiplication of the number of competent authorities could have harmful consequences. The CCBE stresses that the same guarantees should apply to all intermediary service providers, whether they are small or very large online platforms, whether the procedure is conducted by national authorities or by the European Commission. the CCBE considers that Article 41(6) should be more protective in consideration of Recital (79). In particular, the mention of the need to protect professional secrecy and legal professional privilege only appears in the Recitals and not in the Articles themselves. The CCBE notices that the safeguards provided for in relation to the procedures before the national authorities do not appear in a same way in relation to procedures before the European Commission, as mentioned in Article 52 and following. The DSA should provide that in the exercise of its powers granted by the Regulation, the Commission shall be subject to adequate safeguards such as those guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular, the Commission shall exercise its powers in accordance with the right to respect for private life and the rights of defence, while respecting confidentiality, professional secrecy and legal professional privilege.
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Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and

22 Feb 2021 · digitalisation of justice and Rule of Law

Meeting with Alvaro De Elera (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

2 Feb 2021 · Transparency Register IIA

Response to Digitalisation of justice in the European Union

9 Sept 2020

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE responds regularly on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and lawyers. The CCBE welcomes EU initiatives to support the digitalisation of judicial procedures, to foster interoperability of different national systems, and to support the uptake of new technologies in the day-to-day functioning of justice systems. However, in order to uphold fair trial rights, such endeavours must always be coupled with sufficient safeguards and due process procedures, including the protection of professional secrecy and legal professional privilege. Any development in this field is of prime significance for the legal profession, and the CCBE stands ready to constructively engage with the EU institutions and all stakeholders regarding the further development of the European e-justice environment. Please find attached our feedback for more detailed observations. EN : https://www.ccbe.eu/fileadmin/speciality_distribution/public/documents/IT_LAW/ITL_Position_papers/EN_ITL_20200904_CCBE-comments-on-the-roadmap-on-the-digitalization-of-justice-in-the-EU.pdf FR : https://www.ccbe.eu/fileadmin/speciality_distribution/public/documents/IT_LAW/ITL_Position_papers/FR_ITL_20200904_CCBE-comments-on-the-roadmap-on-the-digitalization-of-justice-in-the-EU.pdf
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Response to New Pact on Migration and Asylum

26 Aug 2020

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) representing the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers welcomes the Commission’s initiative and the opportunity to make observations on the Roadmap for a New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The CCBE emphasises the following principles in the area of international protection – communicated by the CCBE at earlier stages and available here https://www.ccbe.eu/actions/committees-working-groups/?idC=549&Committee=Migration - should be given prominence in the initiative: 1. Asylum Policy and Third Countries: persons seeking international protection must be permitted to access EU borders and should not be subject to any landing/disembarkation platforms in third countries where the operation of the CEAS cannot be guaranteed. The lawful operation of the CEAS requires access to legal advice and representation by a lawyer qualified to practise in the EU and access to an independent appeals tribunal governed by EU law and subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU. The legal safeguards set out especially in Directive 2013/32/EU of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (Recast) including the right to an interpreter must be maintained. 2. Effective access to asylum procedure: efforts should be redoubled to ensure that adequate legal and procedural information is provided to persons seeking international protection to allow such persons to provide at each stage of the procedure a complete and accurate account of the reasons that led them to leave their country. The new Pact should ensure on a practical level that the information provided must include the criteria on foot of which the person may be granted protection. 3. Legal assistance at all stages of the procedure: the provisions of Directive 2013/32/EU entitling asylum seekers to benefit from legal advice at all stages of the asylum procedure (Article 22) as well as the right to free legal assistance and representation before a court of first instance when a decision is taken at the border (Article 20) should be strengthened by the new Pact to ensure that asylum seekers have legal assistance from independent lawyers at all stages of the procedure and not simply in respect of an appeal against a refusal to recognise protection status. All too often asylum seekers in good faith fail to explain or adequately explain elements which are essential from the perspective of the protection officer but are not obvious to an applicant recalling that the burden of proof rests with the applicant. Asylum seekers should also always be informed of the necessity to obtain legal advice and assistance and the Pact should ensure this happens on a practical level. 4. Training for Lawyers: the Pact should ensure that lawyers working in the field of international protection in the EU especially in migration hotspots are provided with comprehensive and regular training on the CEAS and that adequate financing should be put in place to achieve this goal. Training should focus in particular on assisting vulnerable persons including unaccompanied minors. 5. Legal aid funded at EU level: to ensure that legal assistance from independent lawyers at all stages of the procedure is effective, there is a need for legal aid schemes in the field of migration and asylum which the EU needs to ensure through a funding program. 6. Prohibition on Closed Controlled Centres and the Detention of Children: the Pact should continue to uphold the principle of prohibiting such centres in the EU. Children should never be detained. 7. Dublin System: decisions on responsibility sharing must always be subject to adequate notice to persons affected permitting appeals to independent tribunals. Common European approaches towards conditions in countries of origin would serve to ensure consistency of protection and thereby reduce secondary movements.
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Meeting with Alvaro De Elera (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

23 Sept 2019 · Rule of Law

Meeting with Andrea Almeida Cordero (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

10 May 2019 · gender balance in digital skills

Meeting with Carlos Moedas (Commissioner) and

28 Jan 2019 · Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in the legal sector

Response to Improving cross-border access to electronic evidence in criminal matters

4 Jul 2018

Please find attached the CCBE's preliminary comments on the proposal. The key question arising from this legislative initiative is whether the proposal to enhance the powers to access electronic evidence across national borders by investigating authorities is coupled with sufficient procedural safeguards and due process procedures. In other words, are there any aspects that could undermine fair trial rights, and, if so, how might these aspects be addressed? There are three core issues within which most of the detailed observations sit: 1. The provision of an effective mechanism which ensures the protection of lawyer-client communications. This raises in particular the following issues: a) Upon which persons should the Orders be served? b) How far is judicial scrutiny of applications necessary? c) How can the effectiveness of such scrutiny be secured? d) Do the proposed grounds for refusal need to be supplemented? e) Do the provisions for notification require to be supplemented? 2. Ensuring equality of arms between the prosecution and the defence. 3. Provision of effective judicial review The attached paper contains certain preliminary observations on these and other matters.
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Response to EU Whistleblower protection

2 Jul 2018

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries, and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE regularly responds on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and lawyers. With this paper, the CCBE wishes to share its initial remarks on the Commission’s Proposal for a Directive on the protection of persons reporting on breaches of Union law. The CCBE published last year a “Submission on whistle-blowing protections” within the framework of the Commission’s public consultation on whistle-blowers’ protection. The importance of preserving the professional secrecy/legal professional privilege is highlighted in the statement. The observations made should also be considered in the context of the current proposal and the general remarks are based on that previous statement. Please find attached the CCBE's comments on the proposal.
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Response to EU Company law upgraded Package:digital solutions and providing efficient rules for cross border operations of companies

2 Jul 2018

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE regularly responds on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and impact on lawyers’ practice. The CCBE welcomes the Commission’s proposal which aims to make the procedure of establishing a company more flexible across the European Union, and more generally to promote the use of digital technologies throughout the company's life-cycle, so that companies and lawyers can fully benefit from the use of digital tools in a business environment becoming more and more digitally oriented. With this paper, the CCBE wishes to share its observations in relation to the proposed Directive with the purpose of clarifying the text and making the digital process more efficient in practice. Furthermore, the CCBE has also identified several provisions of the proposed Directive where it believes some changes should be made to the legislative text or where it has a query about the method proposed. The CCBE would welcome the opportunity to discuss these provisions. Please find attached the CCBE's position.
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Response to EU Company law upgraded Package:digital solutions and providing efficient rules for cross border operations of companies

2 Jul 2018

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries and through them more than 1 million European lawyers. The CCBE regularly responds on behalf of its members on policy issues which affect European citizens and impact on lawyers’ practice. With this paper, the CCBE wishes to share its observations in relation to the proposed Directive. The CCBE has identified several provisions where it believes some changes should be made to the text or where it has a specific query about the method proposed. The CCBE would welcome the opportunity to discuss these provisions. Please see the attached paper for the CCBE's position.
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Response to Targeted revision of EU consumer law directives

29 May 2018

Please see our feedback in the attached paper
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Response to Cross-border e-Justice in Europe (e-CODEX)

11 Aug 2017

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) supports the initiative to seek for a sustainable solution of the maintenance and further development of e-CODEX. The CCBE stresses that it would like to see the e-CODEX model being used in all e-justice projects based on interconnection of judicial systems, in order to avoid different models being developed. Regarding e-CODEX, we are proud to have been part of its activities since 2010, and obviously fully support its work in securing a specifically European solution to communications between the principal stakeholders in justice. If properly managed and implemented, the e-CODEX system can improve citizens’ access to justice, including better and faster justice. Within this context the CCBE wishes to stress the importance of securing an "electronic equality of arms and access to justice”. In other words, electronic judicial procedures based on the e-CODEX system should facilitate all parties in a trial and not only one party to the possible disadvantage of the other party. Continuous care needs to be taken that the system drawn up in the digital environment does not undermine the rights and laws that govern citizens and judicial actors in the real world. Therefore, regarding the future governance and coordination of e-CODEX and e-CODEX-related activities, the CCBE calls upon the EU institutions to ensure that all judicial actors, including lawyers, remain closely involved. The CCBE is ready and keen to help assessing the best way forward.
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Meeting with Isabelle Perignon (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

12 Sept 2016 · European Parliament resolution of 12 March 2014 on the electronic mass surveillance of EU citizens

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Commissioner)

23 Mar 2015 · Presentation of the activites of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), including CCBE's position on EPPO, data protection, access to a lawyer