Meeting at Eurojust of Consultative Forum of Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions of the EU Member States

A meeting of the Consultative Forum of Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions of the EU Member States took place at Eurojust on 16 December 2011, chaired by the Prosecutor General of Poland, Mr Andrzej Seremet. All Member States were represented. Participants from the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission and OLAF also attended the meeting.

Challenges to investigating and prosecuting crimes affecting EU financial interests were the focus of the first session. Stress was placed on the need to facilitate the full recovery of criminal assets, on ensuring that relationships between administrative and judicial authorities were strengthened, and that cooperation between OLAF and Eurojust be enhanced. If a European Public Prosecutor’s Office were established from Eurojust, its remit would clearly include protection of the EU’s financial interests.

In its second session, the Consultative Forum discussed judicial aspects of witness protection. Partial or full anonymity of witnesses, protection of collaborators of justice and relocation procedures amongst Member States are considered effective tools in the fight against organised crime. They can be enhanced by the adoption of common standards at EU level and appropriate financial support from the European Union, while maintaining the overriding commitment to ensuring fair trial procedures.

The Consultative Forum also discussed the current proposal for a Directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings. Following concerns which had been expressed about the practical and financial implications of the proposal, discussion centred on the importance of a flexible instrument to encompass different national systems and to secure a balance between the effective conduct of criminal proceedings and the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

The Forum was also updated about negotiations on the draft Directive regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters, which proposes far-reaching reform of cross-border judicial cooperation in the European Union.

The next meeting of the Consultative Forum will take place under the Cypriot EU Presidency, in the second half of 2012.

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Background According to the mandate and purpose of the Consultative Forum agreed upon during its meeting of 16 December 2010, its goal is to promote the strengthening of the judicial aspect of the EU’s internal security. This goal can be achieved by, amongst other things, discussing the trends of criminality impacting the European Union, which could result in input provided to Eurojust, by contributing to the evaluation of lessons learnt, and, when appropriate, by contributing to legislative initiatives taken at EU level. Eurojust supports the meetings of the Consultative Forum and facilitates its discussions.

For more information, please contact:

Mr Joannes THUY, Spokesperson - Head of Press & PR Service
EUROJUST, Maanweg 174, 2516 AB, The Hague, the Netherlands
Tel +31 70 412 5508
E-mail: jthuy[AT]eurojust.europa.eu