The EU Justice Ministers, meeting in Brussels on Friday 4 March, had an exchange of views over lunch on the European response to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in their field. They agreed to stop processing requests for judicial cooperation in criminal matters from Russia and Belarus. “Criminal cooperation requires trust and respect for international law”, said the French Justice Minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti. He added: “We must be vigilant about claims that are in fact manipulations of justice”. He gave the example of the arrest warrants against Polish and Lithuanian judges.
Such requests for assistance will be considered on a case-by-case basis. However, the ministers do not want to see cooperation with these countries on civil matters come to an end.
They also expressed their desire to strengthen the role of the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) in the pursuit of international investigations into crimes committed in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Eurojust has set up a joint investigation team and has decided to involve the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Agency will be able to collect evidence on crimes committed in Ukraine and transmit it to the ICC. In addition, contact points have been set up in the Member States to exchange information. This will also help track down Russian or Belarusian oligarchs who help finance illegal activities in Ukraine, according to the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)