JusMin Predoiu: I have constantly supported a rule of law mechanism enforceable in all EU member states

At a videoconference on Monday regarding the European Mechanism on the Rule of Law and the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu said that he "constantly" supported a mechanism in the area which can be implemented in all EU member states and which can avoid monitoring "parallelism."

According to a Justice Ministry release sent to AGERPRES, Catalin Predoiu met on Monday, in a video conference system, with European Commission (EC) experts within the European Mechanism on the Rule of Law and the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism.

The Justice Ministry mentioned that the experts presented the context of the new European Mechanism on the Rule of Law, which will allow for a continuous dialogue to be maintained between the EC and the authorities of the EU member states, the knowledge of the situation in the field, the prevention and detection of possible problematic aspects regarding the rule of law.

"The Justice Minister presented the latest developments registered in the justice area (the appointments at the leadership of the Prosecutor's Offices, the measures taken in order to ensure the continuity of the judiciary during the COVID-19 pandemic, the perspectives regarding the Justice Laws and public policies in the justice area). Responding to the punctual questions posed by the Commission experts, the Justice Minister presented his vision regarding the role of the Justice Ministry in Romania's legislative process, the quality of the legislation, the human resources in the judicial system. Last, but not least, the Justice Minister reiterated Justice Ministry's commitment to meet the objectives of the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism" the release shows.

According to the quoted source, the participants in the discussions agreed that there are "close" connections between the two mechanisms and both deal with the substance of aspects related to the observance of the rule of law, even if they start from different contexts.

This is why, "monitoring parallelism should be avoided," Predoiu mentioned, insisting on the need of some uniform standards regarding the functioning of Justice in all EU member states, in agreement with the fundamental values which define and underline the European Union, the area of freedom, security and justice built through community and national instruments: human rights, the rule of law, justice independence.

The Justice Minister reiterated "the entire openness" to continue the "honest" and "pragmatic" dialogue with European partners, both within the European Mechanism regarding the Rule of Law and throughout the promotion process of policies and laws in the Justice area - the European Commission, the Venice Commission, the European Commission or the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO).

"I have constantly supported a rule of law mechanism to be enforced in all EU member states and which can avoid the monitoring parallelism. Such a mechanism is a necessity in order to ensure that the uniform standards of the rule of law are observed in the filed, in the entire Union, in all member states. The inherent public debate of the legislative process, transparency of the decision-making process, human rights, press freedom, justice independence are indispensable standards in all member states," the Justice Minister conveyed, as quoted in the release.