Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and Deputy Prosecutor General Desislava Pironeva participated in the 16th Meeting of the Consultative Forum of Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions of the Member States of the European Union, which was held on October 13-14, 2022 in The Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The programme of the meeting is focused on the criminal law consequences for European countries of the military conflict in Ukraine. Attention was also paid to the proposal of the European Commission to amend the Regulation on the functioning of Eurojust in order to introduce the necessary provisions allowing an in-depth analysis and storage of collected evidence of war crimes committed in connection with the military conflict in Ukraine.
The Prosecutors General agreed that, as part of the European family, each EU member state should make efforts to ensure the security of society and the stability of its national legal system in the spirit of democratic values and upholding the rule of law.
This year's meeting of the Consultative Forum was chaired by Olivier Christen, Head of the Criminal Affairs and Pardons of France, and Igor Stříž, Prosecutor General of the Czech Republic. Mr Stříž opened the meeting with a welcome speech and emphasized that the chosen topic of the 16th meeting is of extreme importance both at European and international level, because it puts at risk of a serious violation of the legal order, basic human rights and humanity, inherent in democratic countries.
Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev stated the readiness of Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office for active cooperation with its European partners in their actions in connection with the current international situation and the challenges arising from it before the judicial authorities.
Olivier Christen emphasized the need for cooperation of magistrates as a key element to protect the interests of European citizens. He called on his colleagues to initiate more war crimes investigations and coordination with partner judicial institutions in Europe. The contribution of Eurojust to the implementation of effective investigations, analysis and storage of evidence resulting from the conducted national investigations was also reported.
European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, made a video address to Prosecutors General, expressing his gratitude to the European countries for the formation of joint teams to investigate crimes in Ukraine, together with the European Commission and the International Criminal Court. He also stated the readiness of the European Commission to provide the missing means to ensure the initiatives of national and European bodies, aimed at supporting the Ukrainian state in providing solid evidence in court.
President of Eurojust, Ladislav Hamran, expressed the readiness of the led by his structure to assist the European and associated countries with the help of the built-up database of evidence sent by the relevant national investigative and judicial authorities, in order to be able to investigate in depth all the circumstances and to make reasoned conclusion about the essence of the crime and its perpetrator.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andrii Kostin also participated in the meeting of the Consultative Forum, and expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for their dedication in assisting the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office. Mr Kostin emphasized that their actions are aimed at establishing justice and humanity. He presented a report that the volume of reports of war-related crimes was enormous. The role of the countries in Europe is important in carrying out in-depth investigations, forming joint teams and building a stable coordination system between national judicial authorities for the needs of exchanging experience and good practices.
From the Czech side, the discussion turned to ways of supporting international investigations and what activities Eurojust should undertake to assist EU Member States in investigating cross-border crime and cybercrime related to the war in Ukraine, as well as curbing and confiscating illicit financial assets.
In the context of the highly developed telecommunication and technological possibilities for the dissemination of information, there is a serious risk of an increase in cybercrimes aimed at spreading fake news about the war in Ukraine and propagating ideas contrary to European norms and values.
The Prosecutor Generals shared their practical experience, views and challenges facing their prosecutions in relation to the current EU restrictive measures against individuals and companies from Russia and Belarus.
Within the framework of the event, Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev discussed with his colleagues - the Prosecutors General of the EU member states and Ukraine, the upcoming conference "STOP HATE SPEECH", organized by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria together with the European Jewish Association, which will be held at the beginning of December.
Hate crimes and discriminatory reasons will be discussed within the framework of the conference. The event will create a kind of platform for the Prosecutors General together with religious communities and non-governmental organizations to discuss the possibilities of protecting the rights of citizens.
The Consultative Forum of Prosecutors General of the EU countries has been functioning since 2010 within the framework of the Eurojust - the European Union's judicial cooperation unit, with the aim of coordinating investigations, prosecutions and cooperation between the competent authorities of the member states in relation to serious cross-border and /or organized crime.