Brussels, 27 January 2023
On Friday 27 January, EU justice ministers met in Stockholm as part of the informal Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting. The meeting focused on judicial cooperation to combat organised crime and ensure accountability for core international crimes committed in Ukraine. The meeting was also attended by the Ukrainian Minister of Justice, who gave an update on the situation.
“Organised crime has never posed such a threat to the EU and its citizens as it does today. This is particularly true in Sweden. Effective judicial cooperation is therefore crucial as we step up the fight against cross-border crime,” says Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer.
At the meeting, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) presented its work to support the coordination of cross-border criminal investigations by national authorities. The ministers then discussed the important role of Eurojust and a new instrument for the transfer of proceedings and how this contributes to the fight against organised crime.
Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska participated digitally and provided an update on the current situation and his views on the prosecution of core international crimes in Ukraine. The Swedish Office of the Prosecutor-General and war crimes prosecutors from the Swedish Prosecution Authority shared their experiences from previous war crimes prosecutions and Eurojust presented the new evidence database. The ministers then discussed lessons learned and best practices for the prosecution of core international crimes in Ukraine.
“We will demand full accountability for the horrific crimes committed in Ukraine. There will be no impunity for these,” said Mr Strömmer.
Source – EU Council