The German EU Council Presidency would like to set up a “forum for dialogue” for EU judges to discuss the “Rule of law, integrity”, and the independence of judges, German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Wednesday, 2 December.
She was speaking at the end of a discussion on the Commission’s annual report on the Rule of law in the EU-27 (see EUROPE 12571/5) focusing on the chapters of the report devoted to judicial systems.
This Forum will provide an opportunity to discuss national judicial traditions in order to provide food for thought and to help strengthen the independence of the judiciary, added the Minister, whose Presidency was recently criticised for not advancing Article 7 proceedings against Hungary and Poland.
For Didier Reynders, the Commissioner for Justice, these discussions will have to be continued “to see what improvements” can be made in the national systems.
Justice ministers also had terrorism on their agenda, including terrorist content online. After condemning the attacks in France and Austria, the German minister insisted on the need to fight against the dissemination of hate content online and mentioned the forthcoming Digital Services Act, which will not only “create new rules (for content hosts)” but will also make it possible to protect “our democracies”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)