The Council of EU Justice Ministers met in Luxembourg
The Minister of Justice of Slovenia, Marjan Dikaučič, yesterday chaired the meeting of Justice Ministers of the European Union, held in Luxembourg. Portugal was represented at this meeting by the Deputy Secretary of State for Justice, Mário Belo Morgado.
Deputy Secretary of State for Justice, Mário Belo Morgado
At the meeting, in the context of a debate on pre-trial detention, the Slovenian Minister of Justice, acknowledging that "differences in detention conditions may have an impact on mutual trust and may therefore constitute an obstacle to judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the European area", nevertheless pointed out that today's "fruitful discussion reflected our joint commitment to continue improving detention conditions and will serve as a guideline for the Commission's future work in this area".
The European Commission and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union briefed Ministers on the latest developments in the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which began operations on 1 June 2021 and already has several ongoing investigations related to cases concerning the protection of the Union's financial interests.
Before the meeting, ministers participated in a working lunch in the context of which they had the opportunity to discuss the protection of journalists and human rights defenders against abusive litigation, with a view to preparing future EU action in this area. As announced in the action plan for European democracy published in December 2020, the Commission is preparing an initiative to protect journalists and human rights defenders against such abusive litigation.
Justice ministers of the European Union will meet again on 9 and 10 December for the last Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting of the Slovenian Presidency.