Warsaw, 12/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Legal cooperation between the EU and Russia, but also within the Polish-Russian framework, was on the agenda of the 15th meeting of the EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council. “We have seen similarities of approach between the EU and Russia, in a spirit of respect and trust towards our partners”, said Polish Justice Minister, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, taking pains to welcome an “open and honest dialogue”. The conditions have been met, he said, to “speed up the cooperation process, also in the field of criminal cases”.
Russia's recent adoption of a law on the protection of personal data played in their favour. The member states assessed its content to be in line with European standards. Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov welcomed the contents of the meeting and expressed high expectations of this cooperation saying: “It will give a shot in the arm to the development of relations between the Union and Russia".
Russia has also made a commitment to Poland, pending an agreement on legal cooperation in the civil courts. “This will relate to civil matters, family law and economic issues. But not criminal matters”, said the Polish justice minister. The work between the two countries focuses on communication between their courts. “This agreement will be of great practical importance. It will simplify and rationalise the legal process, by removing the various barriers which may hinder us, as regards requests for assistance in civilian legal matters”, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski concluded. (VW/transl.fl)