JusMin Predoiu endorses justice and rule of law evaluation mechanism for all member states

Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu, at the informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, organised in Zagreb, endorsed the idea of an evaluation mechanism on justice and rule of law for all member countries.

"Although it was an informal meeting of the JHA Council, we discussed substantial topics. In the intervention in the Council meeting, I evoked the idea of a justice and rule of law evaluation mechanism for all member countries, without any parallelisms in this demarche. Certainly, a single standard is needed for everyone. I showed that the support for making the European Prosecutor's Office operational will be a test for the real commitment of all the member states' governments to the same integrity standards in all member countries, protecting the European interests and combatting corruption with European funds. It would be good that all EU member countries combat corruption as Romania does, including in the European funds area. Otherwise, we reach double standards in the absorption mechanisms," Predoiu said at the end of the meeting, as quoted in a Justice Ministry release.

On the sidelines of the JHA Council meeting, Minister Predoiu had bilateral meetings with the ministers and delegations of Germany, Sweden and Poland. Moreover, he had head-to-head talks with the ministers of Finland, Croatia and Austria, as well as with EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders.

"These talks were aimed at the JHA agenda. We haven't discussed anything about the CVM [Cooperation and Verification Mechanism] this time, we particularly wanted to begin with the matters on the European agenda, because there is very much to do for Justice in all European countries. Justice independence, the space of freedom, security and justice in the EU are the main values that positively differentiate the European construction on a global level. That is why, they must be protected and consolidated through constant modernisation and refining," Predoiu said.

At the informal meeting in Zagreb, the EU member states ministers of justice discussed the progress concerning the strategic orientations in the area of freedom, security and justice, judiciary training, the importance of the European judiciary network in the civil and commercial area, as well as that of the national networks.

Minister Catalin Predoiu supported the topics on the 2019-2024 Strategic Agenda in the area of freedom, security and justice.

According to the Justice Ministry, the minister showed that the principles of developing the future judiciary cooperation must remain the same: be focused on the Union's citizens, ensure facilitating the access to justice, be based on respecting common values, fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law and ensuring the consolidation of mutual trust in the member states' justice systems.

During his interventions, the Justice Minister mentioned that he endorses the European Prosecutor's Office becoming operational and its consolidation, as well as the initiatives of strengthening the rule of law in the EU through a generally applicable mechanism, within which the member states can be evaluated in relation to the same objectives, criteria and procedures.