Prosecutors General and directors of public prosecutions from the European Union will gather today and tomorrow at Eurojust for the first time in two years for their 15th Consultative Forum. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation of the Forum was not possible in 2020. The digitalisation of justice and cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) are the main themes of the Forum. European Chief Prosecutor Ms Laura Kövesi will address the attendees.
The Forum will be co-chaired by the Prosecutors General of all four Presidencies of the Council of the EU of this year and last year. For current Council President Slovenia, this is Prosecutor General Mr Drago Šketa, together with Mr João Monteiro, Vice-Prosecutor General of Portugal, Ms Zlata Hrvoj Šipek, Attorney General of Croatia, and Dr Peter Frank, Federal Prosecutor General of Germany. Eurojust President Mr Ladislav Hamran will act as co-chairperson.
The four Prosecutor/Attorney Generals jointly stated: ‘The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that crises are best met jointly. Therefore, we host the 15th Forum jointly as a clear sign of solidarity of the prosecution services in the EU. Meeting again in person is a great privilege and pleasure and will enable us to discuss new developments, such as the cooperation with the EPPO and the digitalisation of justice. The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown that the judiciary across the European Union has a need for fully fledged digitalisation, in order to fight cross-border crime efficiently in the future. This process needs to be accelerated.’
Eurojust President Mr Ladislav Hamran said: ‘We are proud to host the EU Member States’ Chief Prosecutors at Eurojust again. It is important to discuss what binds us together, in terms of cross-border crime and our judicial cooperation in response. We pay special attention to the digitalisation of justice, and how it can help us to further strengthen our joint work in the interest of citizens’ safety and security.’
The Forum members will have an extensive discussion on the digitalisation of justice. The European Commission will provide information about the latest developments in this field, and the Forum members will exchange experiences and best practices at national level. Eurojust has been tasked by the European Commission with enhancing the digitalisation of justice and modernising its Case Management System.
In addition to Ms Kövesi, the EPPO will be represented during the Forum by Deputy European Chief Prosecutors Mr Danilo Ceccarelli and Mr Andrés Ritter. For the European Prosecutors General, it will be the first opportunity to meet and have discussions with the EPPO delegation in person.
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union