EU Attorneys General want to unify criteria to combat cross-border crime

EU attorneys general are considering the creation of a consultative forum which would enable them to unify criteria and advance towards a common European justice system to combat cross-border crime.

This is the main objective of a meeting opened this Thursday by the First Vice-President of the Spanish Government, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega; the Spanish Justice Minister, Francisco Caamaño, and the President of Eurojust, Aled Williams.

In her address, the Spanish Vice-President argued that 'in a world where threats to our security and liberty make no distinctions between countries and regions, and where an increasingly cohesive Europe continues to progress towards greater political and economic unity, the creation of a truly European justice system is no longer just a matter of choice, but of necessity'.

According to Ms Fernández de la Vega, 'this is the minimum requirement for effective work; the sin qua non for continued evolution towards greater liberty, security and peace'.

Thus, ecological crimes, trafficking in drugs and persons, attacks on the euro, domestic violence and organised crime 'pose a threat to all citizens' and must be confronted jointly, she added.

And in order to do so 'we need clear and coherent criteria, shared priorities and effective mechanisms', the Spanish Vice-President underscored.

Ms Fernández de la Vega encouraged the attorneys general to 'take steps towards the construction of a single European justice system as well, which would thus be a worthy reflection of the Europe we already have', after reminding the audience that one of the objectives of the Spanish Presidency of the EU is to promote the creation of a European prosecution service.