PRESS RELEASE : INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL
Veria, 28th - 29th March 2003

The works of the Informal Meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union in Veria came to an end today.

In the second day of the Council and under the Presidency of the Greek Minister of Justice Mr. Philippos PETSALNIKOS, the Ministers exchanged views on the following:

• Procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings within the European Union, and
• Developments in the European Convention on the future of Europe with respect to judicial cooperation in the European Union.

I. Concerning the first subject, the President of the Council stressed the need for a balanced approach regarding security matters and the protection of human rights, given that more security does not necessarily mean less freedom.

Referring to the Green Bible, he reminded everyone present that its main points are the following:

• the right to legal assistance and representation
• the presence of a competent, qualified (or certified) interpreter and/or translator,
• the protection of particularly vulnerable social groups
• the provision of consular assistance,
• the notification to the suspect/defendant of his/her rights and the charges against him/her
• the need to monitor the compliance of Member States.

He also noted that some other rights, like parole and the ne bis in idem principle (i.e. that nobody gets tried twice for the same offence) are already being discussed by the competent bodies of the European Union; the latter following an initiative by the Greek Presidency.

After that, the Commissioner Mr. VITORINO took the floor. He said that the rights selected are not the only ones to be protected, but those which, in the Commission’s opinion, are the most urgent ones within the context of the growing judicial cooperation between Member States. He reminded everyone present that all these rights do not start from nothing, but they have their roots in the common legal tradition of the European countries.

He concluded by saying that the Green Bible constitutes the starting point of a discussion and not a number of final proposals. During the discussion, emphasis was put on the following:

1. There was consensus on the fact that the Green Bible constitutes a positive starting point for the discussion of an issue both significant and factual. The current discussion and the written proposals to be made by Member States will lead the Commission to formulate a full proposal which will begin to be discussed within the competent bodies of the European Union.

2. With respect to the previous remark, a number of colleagues noted that the principle of subsidiarity must be met and at the same time, Member States should maintain the discretion of specializing and defining the relevant rights in national law.

3. Concerning the bill of rights as defined in the Green Paper, additional rights have been suggested (such as the right of silence of the defendant, the right of protection for convictions in absentia , etc) by several delegations while the need for internal cohesion of the bill was also pointed out.

4. Those delegations that made remarks concerning the protection of vulnerable groups, emphasized the employment of a general definition and not of a list regarding specific groups. Special interest was shown in the protection of juveniles.

5. Concerning the information given to the defendant about his/her rights and charges against him/her, the usefulness of the process was pointed out, provided that we avoid the risk of procedural rigidity.

6. The Judges' education was dealt positively, although it was also suggested that the predominant role should be given to Member States

7. As far as the mutual legal assistance is concerned, the general feeling was that it should be ensured that it will be provided to those that really need it.

8. Finally, it was mentioned that a more completed protection of victims of criminal acts should be provided for.

Concluding, Mr. PETSALNIKOS, pointed out that significant progress was made regarding the delicate issue of the defendants' protection. He also reminded to the Member States that written comments should be submitted to the European Commission not later than 15-05-2003, so that the Commission will be able to submit concrete proposals to the Council, in June.

II. Afterwards, the Ministerial Council dealt with the progress of the European Convention concerning matters of judicial cooperation.

The European Convention, as already known, is drafting a European Constitution in which the area of freedom, security and justice will have a special place within the context of a Union more closely linked. For that reason, the Greek Presidency considered it necessary that the Ministers of Justice discuss this issue, so that a fruitful dialogue on the future of Europe, the safeguards of the freedoms the Union should guarantee and the necessary judicial cooperation for their protection be carried out.

Following a formal invitation by the Presidency, Mr. John BRUTON, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland and Member of the Presidium of the Convention, participated in the Council and informed the Ministers on the progress made by the Convention on this issue. The Presidium of the Convention has already made public the part of the Constitution referring to the area of freedom, security and justice whose discussion its Plenary Session is to follow quite soon.

The main axis of the proposal is to place, in principle, the field of justice under the same legal regime as the general regime of the Union, so that the action and cooperation between Member States becomes more effective. Therefore, co-decision between the Council and the European Parliament by qualified majority and the unification of legal instruments, so that the establishment of European Laws and Framework-Laws be possible, is adopted, in principle, as a general decision making procedure.

At the same time, the mutual recognition of judicial and extra-judicial decisions between Member States is clearly recognized as a general principle, while the Union’s competence for the approximation of the penal systems of Member States is extended. Besides, the definition and protection of the rights of the persons participating in penal procedures, along with the rights of crime victims, are defined as a specific subject of this approximation.

According to the Presidency, the main questions with regard to the field of justice are the following:

• Firstly, safeguarding the sensitive balance between the adoption of effective decision making procedures in an enlarged Union and the respect for the rights of European citizens.
• Secondly, the establishment of monitoring mechanisms for ensuring the implementation of Union legislation, so that the safeguards provided are secured and the mutual recognition of criminal decisions is operational. For the same reason, this monitoring should be extended to the bodies of the Union, especially to the new co-operation institutions (Eurojust, Europol), for the full protection of the rights of the citizens.

In the fruitful discussion that followed, Member States confirmed their commitment to strengthen their cooperation in matters of justice, adopt efficient decision-making procedures and legislative measures as well as secure ways of evaluation and monitoring the implementation of the decisions taken, especially through the substantial participation of national parliaments.

Members of the Council noted the need for a clear definition of the European Union's competences and many representations expressed their will to extend the Union's competence to cover the protection of the rights for all persons involved in criminal proceedings. At the same time, it was also noted, that these developments should be compatible with national legal traditions, so that the relation between Union law and national law in the field of justice be symmetrical and efficient, able to meet the expectations of the citizens of Europe.