JusMin Stelian Ion attends JHA Council meeting in Luxembourg, discusses with Italian, French counterparts

Justice Minister Stelian Ion participated today in Luxembourg in the works of EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council, discussing on this occasion with his Italian and French counterparts subjects related to bilateral cooperation, the Justice Ministry announced in a statement, agerpres reports.

This was the first physical meeting of the Justice Ministers since the onset of the COVID pandemic.

An extremely important item on the agenda, the Justice Ministry notes, was the start of the operation, on June 1, of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). In this context, the Romanian JusMin reminded that Romania has launched the second procedure for the selection of 9 delegated European prosecutors, which is due for completion in July 2021.

"The process for the selection of the delegated European prosecutors must be robust, solid, so as to not undermine EPPO's credibility and functioning," Justice Minister Stelian Ion was cited as saying.

"On the sidelines of the Council session, Stelian Ion met with Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, with whom he discussed the justice package and the dismantling of the special Section for the Investigation of Judicial Crimes; the Commissioner said that these are essential elements in the context of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and the rule of law, pointing also out the importance of Romania complying with the European Court of Justice ruling of May 18," the statement reads.

The Romanian Justice Minister also discussed bilateral cooperation with the his Italian and French counterparts Marta Cartabia and Eric Dupond-Moretti, respectively.