The Hague, 10 March 2020

The newly appointed Liaison Prosecutor for Serbia at Eurojust, Ms Gordana Janicijevic, has taken up her duties. Ms Janicijevic was officially introduced today to the Eurojust College during a visit of Serbian Republic Public Prosecutor Ms Zagorka Dolovac. Serbia is the 7th country to have a Liaison Prosecutor at Eurojust. Liaison Prosecutors can open cases for support from EU Member States and participate in coordination meetings and coordination centres to step up the fight against cross-border crime. Since 2015, Serbia has already cooperated with Eurojust in nearly 150 cases involving serious organised crime.

Eurojust President Mr Ladislav Hamran said: ‘I warmly welcome Ms Janicijevic to The Hague and look forward to an excellent cooperation. It is of great importance that an increasing number of countries want to work together with Eurojust in the fight against cross-border organised crime and terrorism. I am convinced that the valuable experience of Ms Janicijevic and the full backing of the Serbian authorities will play a crucial role in our efforts to further increase our operational and strategic cooperation with the Western Balkans region.’

Photos © Eurojust

Republic Public Prosecutor of Serbia Ms Zagorka Dolovac pointed out: ‘This is an important moment and day in the joint history of the Republic Public Prosecution Office of Serbia and Eurojust, and also a significant development in the relationship between the Republic of Serbia and the European Union. Our joint professional efforts and commitment were recognized and now are allowed to prosper even more. I am certain that our representation here in The Hague will be able to continue with proven quality and reliability in cooperation with European and other colleagues to fulfil the most important task of protecting our societies from dangers and consequences which contemporary crime represents.‘

Liaison Prosecutor for Serbia Ms Gordana Janicijevic stated: ‘I am very honoured to be the first Liaison Prosecutor for Serbia at Eurojust. Given the previous caseload, I believe that having a cooperation agreement and presence at Eurojust will enhance the already excellent cooperation between Serbia and Eurojust in fighting serious transnational crime. I look forward to a close cooperation with all the countries represented at Eurojust, and I expect an increased exchange of information and the most efficient coordination.’

Ms Janicijevic was Deputy Republic Public Prosecutor of Serbia before starting in her new role at Eurojust. The opening of a Serbian liaison office at Eurojust is supported by the Instrument of Pre-Accession Assistance IPA/2017 project ‘Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans’, of the European Commission (DG NEAR) and the German Federal Government.

Eurojust and Serbia have signed a cooperation agreement in November of last year. Between 2008 and 2018, Eurojust has already concluded similar agreements with three other countries in the Western Balkans: North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. Both North Macedonia and Montenegro already have Liaison Prosecutors in The Hague.

Serbia has worked with Eurojust on 150 cases involving serious crime since 2015 and attended 22 coordination meetings. It has participated in seven Joint Investigation Teams (JITs), most of which involved drug trafficking cases, and took part in two joint action days supported through Eurojust’s coordination centre. The most frequently involved crime types are drug trafficking, swindling and large-scale fraud.

Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said COVID-19 was a public health emergency that is changing by the hour. Member states must focus on containing the virus to slow down its spread, so that health systems can cope and the impact on the economy and social life is limited as much as possible.

A number of EP political group leaders expressed their sympathy with those affected by the virus and their admiration for the health care personnel working to take care of those infected.

Many also highlighted the need for EU solidarity and for more funds to be put into researching the virus. Necessary medical supplies such as testing kits, masks and respiratory machines should be produced inside the EU and be made available to all member states.

Some MEPs said there was a need to have a common European risk assessment to ensure that the same measures would apply for areas with the same risk level. The need for common rules on entering the Schengen area was also raised by some.

You can see a recording of the full debate here.

Two days after International Women’s Day (8 March), EP Vice-President McGuinness opened the plenary session conveying Parliament’s support to all women facing the public health emergency posed by the Coronavirus.

McGuinness (EPP, IE) declared: ‘On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we must remember that millions of women and girls around the world are still prevented from fully developing their skills and playing their role in society, and this is also the case in the EU. Realising women’s rights is not an option – it is a duty – and it is possible where there is political will.’ Welcoming the new 2020-2025 Gender Equality Strategy presented by the Commission on 5 March, she added that Parliament stands ready to work on the legislative proposals with a clear commitment to strengthen gender equality and women’s rights in the EU and around the world.

MEPs speaking on behalf of their political group welcomed the new Gender Equality Strategy and called for action and concrete implementation, not just words. Many underlined that gender-based violence remains a challenge and called on all member states and the EU to urgently ratify the Istanbul Convention. The fight against stereotypes, femicide, the gender pay and pension gap, online violence and the lack of women in decision-making were mentioned as the other main challenges that need to be tackled .

Click on the links below to watch the videos of the interventions:

Opening statement by EP Vice-President McGuinness

Round of political group speakers

Closing remarks by Croatian Secretary of State for European affairs, Nikolina Brnjac

The Hague, 10 March 2020

A major action has been taken against a mainly Romanian criminal network, which has been stealing high-grade goods such as laptops, televisions and mobile phones from driving lorries on motorways. Charges have been pressed against 71 suspects, under the direction of the Romanian authorities, with the support of their counterparts in Spain,  France, Finland, Sweden and The Netherlands. Furthermore, 73 houses have been searched, with profits of the thefts amounting to approximately EUR 1.6 million. Eurojust actively supported the judicial cooperation and coordination in this case. Europol provided analytical support.

In 2016 and 2017, the organised criminal group (OCG) stole goods from at least nine driving trucks, with one failed attempt. The OCG moved in several vehicles and had one car driving in front of the targeted truck, keeping it at regular speed on a calm part of a motorway. Two cars drove next to the target, to prevent any other car from passing. Members of the criminal group from a fourth vehicle or van behind the truck jumped from the driving car onto the targeted lorry, using ropes or straps. They then opened the tarpaulin of the truck and loaded stolen goods into their own driving vehicle.

The drivers from the targeted trucks were not aware of the theft going on. The criminal network ensured no other persons could see the thefts, which took place in Romania, Spain and The Netherlands. In one case electronic equipment and state-of-the-art mobile phones were heisted from a truck during a ferry journey between Sweden and Finland, with the driver not on board of his cabin. In most cases the acquired goods were sold in Romania, although part of the equipment has been recovered.

Eurojust provided support to the setting up and functioning of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), in which Romania, France, Finland, Sweden and The Netherlands participated and awarded financial funds. The Agency held two coordination meetings to prepare for the action, which has led to the arrests and searches.

In Romania, the action was conducted under the direction of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure, with the support of the Romanian Police Service for Criminal Investigations (DGPMB). Further support was provided by the Central Unit of the Dutch National Police and other national authorities involved.

Photo © Shutterstock

We had tonight a meeting with President Erdoğan. A few days after my visit in Ankara, it was important to have this occasion to exchange our views on different topics related to the relationship between Turkey and the European Union. And of course, the first topic we discussed is the implementation of the deal between the European Union and Turkey on migration. We had the occasion to share our different opinions about the implementation of this deal a few years after this agreement.

Nous avons eu l’occasion de discuter avec le président Erdoğan un certain nombre de sujets. Le premier qui a été discuté est bien sûr la question de la migration. Et cela a été l’occasion pour nous de tenter de clarifier un certain nombre de positions, d’interprétations, de commentaires, en lien avec la mise en œuvre de cet accord qui lie l’Union européenne avec la Turquie. En particulier, on a eu l’occasion de montrer de quelle manière l’Union européenne a mis en œuvre des engagements financiers, la promesse de mobiliser au total 6 milliards d’euros afin de venir en soutien aux réfugiés qui se situent en Turquie. Et c’est l’occasion aussi de reconnaître la responsabilité qui a été prise par la Turquie quant à cette prise en charge de migrants sur le sol turc.

Nous avons eu l’occasion d’expliquer aussi la différence pour l’Union européenne entre les moyens qui sont payés et déboursés, parce que les procédures sont accomplies et les projets réalisés, et les moyens qui sont engagés, c’est à dire réservés dans le cas de l’enveloppe de 6 milliards d’euros qui a été mobilisée en lien avec cet accord. C’est un premier point.

Deuxième point: on a eu l’occasion aussi de discuter les questions de sécurité dans la région, spécialement en Syrie, et de mettre en exergue notre mobilisation en soutien à toute solution politique pour amener plus de stabilité, mais surtout de mettre en exergue la préoccupation très grande que nous avons sur le plan humanitaire à Idlib, ainsi qu’à la frontière entre la Turquie et la Syrie. Et la mobilisation possible de l’Union européenne pour tenter d’apporter du soutien sur ce terrain-là.

We had also the occasion to discuss other topics related to the relationship between Turkey and the European Union and to try to exchange our views, our opinions in order to make progress and to have the occasion with this meeting in Brussels to consider that it’s a first step in order to have a stronger political dialogue in the short term, in the mid-term and in the longer term with Turkey.

Finally, we decided and it is very concrete and very important for the next days and for the next weeks, we decided to task Josep Borrell, the High Representative, with his counterpart in Turkey, the minister of foreign affairs, each of them with a team, to work in the next days in order to clarify the implementation of the deal between Turkey and the European Union.  This is to be certain that we are on the same page, that we have the same interpretation about what we do in Turkey at the level of the European Union in order to implement the deal.  We will keep the political dialogue with Erdoğan in the next days.

It is also very important to share with you that we will debrief the member states. We consulted a lot the member states the last days. It was, of course, necessary in order to inform them, in order to listen to the member states and to their concern regarding the different topics we have to discuss with Turkey. We will debrief the member states and it will also be the occasion later with the member states, after this process, this High-Level Political and technical process, between Turkey and the European Union through Josep Borrell and his counterpart in Turkey. It will also be the occasion to have, again, a political dialogue at the level of president Erdoğan in the next days and in the next weeks in order to continue this process of information and consultation of the different member states.

En résumé, cette réunion est un pas important, je pense que c’est un pas dans la bonne direction. Mais il y a du travail encore que nous devons à accomplir sur le plan turc et sur le plan européen, ensemble pour tenter de bonne foi, et avec bonne volonté de faire le monitoring de cet accord entre l’Union européenne et la Turquie, en terme de migration et voir comment on peut à l’avenir continuer à progresser et veiller à ce qu’il y ait une désescalade, à ce qu’il y ait de la modération dans cette capacité de coopérer ensemble sur les différents sujets.