At the informal meeting held in Budapest (Hungary) on Tuesday 23 July, the Ministers and representatives of the Justice Ministers of the European Union discussed strengthening the competitiveness of the EU and its Member States through the prism of the law. Under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, discussions aimed to integrate this perspective into all EU policies.
Hungary’s Minister of Justice, Bence Tuzson, said after the meeting: “We have succeeded in putting subjects on the agenda that can have a positive influence on the way the European Union operates in the long term. One of our main objectives is to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness through laws that support this competitiveness”.
According to a working document seen by Agence Europe, the discussions focused on three main areas: promoting competitiveness in civil judicial cooperation; providing legal and technical protection for weaker parties, in particular SMEs; and developing common European rules for enforcing claims arising from cross-border online contracts and increasing the efficiency and accessibility of judicial services.
The Hungarian Presidency insisted on the simplification of the legislative process, transparency and predictability of laws to reduce the administrative burden on businesses. The aim was to reiterate the importance of a regulatory framework that guarantees legal certainty and attracts foreign investment.
Since the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999, the EU has established a substantial framework for judicial cooperation in civil matters, including the free movement of judgments and the digitalisation of judicial procedures. The Hungarian Presidency now wishes to assess these achievements and prepare future legislative work by focusing on aspects that strengthen competitiveness.
According to a source close to the matter, the delegations supported these points, while insisting on the fact that the Rule of law - a subject of dispute due to the authoritarian abuses of the Hungarian State - is essential to the competitiveness of European States: it provides a reliable legal framework, protects property rights, ensures fair competition, attracts foreign investment and maintains social and political stability.
As at the previous day’s debates on Home Affairs, the European Commission maintained its boycott and was represented by the Deputy Director General of DG JUST, Nils Behrndt. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)