The standpoint of the Government in Stockholm to support Romania’s accession to Schengen, the Laws of Justice and the activity of Romanian prosecutors who are investigating crimes in Justice were among the topics which Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu discussed on Monday with Sweden’s Ambassador Therese Hyden, according to Agerpres.

„The Justice Minister thanked the Swedish official for the support throughout the years in view of achieving the reforms in Justice and for the standpoint of the Government in Stockholm to support Romania’s accession to the Schengen area. The vote of the Swedish Government validates the solidarity of Romania’s European path, and the latest developments confirm, once again, the will of the authorities in Bucharest to strengthen Romania status as a EU member state,” according to a release of the Justice Ministry.

Minister Predoiu presented, in detail, the latest developments in the sector, with an emphasis on the Justice Laws which have recently been cleared by Parliament, validated by the Constitutional Court and appreciated both by the European Commission and the Venice Commission, the ministry’s representatives mention.

Another aspect of interest was the activity of the prosecutors especially appointed to investigate crimes in Justice, who replaced the Special Section.

„The Justice Minister presented statistical data from which it results that the volume of cases is decreasing. Moreover, he mentioned that no procedural incidents occurred that might question the independence of specially appointed prosecutors, an essential element in the post-SIIJ [Special Section Investigating Justice Crimes] activity,” the quoted source showed.

Catalin Predoiu announced that he will attend the meeting of the General Affairs Council on 13 December, when the Report regarding Romania’s rule of law shall be discussed.

„I shall present to the colleagues of the EU member states the progresses registered in the Justice sector, highlighted by the European Commission in the final CVM [Cooperation and Verification Mechanism] Report. Romania supported the introduction of the Rule of Law Mechanism at EU level and actively participates in all the assessment exercises. The Government, the coalition, Parliament and the judiciary managed to prove that we can reach an institutional efficiency on aspects of major interest for the judicial system and for the society overall, materialised in the tangible and important result consisting in obtaining a last positive CVM Report for Romania. The meeting with Sweden’s Ambassador in Bucharest Therese Hyden was extremely useful and constructive in view of the rotating Presidency which is to be exercised by Sweden as of 1 January 2023,” the Justice Minister stated, as quoted in the release.

Agerpres