The Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, visited The Hague (the Netherlands) on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 January to strengthen important cooperation on justice issues with key institutions based in the city.
During his visit to the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation in (Eurojust), the European Commissioner met its President, Michael Schmid, and its Vice-Presidents, Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė and José de la Mata Amaya.
Eurojust’s action in the fight against cross-border crime and its support for investigations into Russian aggression in Ukraine were among the central topics.
The Commissioner praised Eurojust’s efforts, which over the past year has supported more than 12,000 criminal investigations, seized more than €1 billion and led to the arrest of more than 1,000 suspects.
Michael McGrath was also briefed on the role of the Agency’s specialised networks, such as the European Genocide Network and the European Judicial Cybercrime Network, which contribute to better coordination of prosecutors within the EU.
Mr McGrath also met with the Executive Director of the ‘Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine’, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, to discuss progress since April 2024 (see EUROPE 13383/17), when the first claims for economic loss, damage to public infrastructure, artistic and cultural heritage and the environment were registered.
His visit to The Hague was also an opportunity for the Commissioner to meet the First Vice-President of the International Criminal Court, Rosario Salvatore Aitala. The day before, a visit to the European criminal police agency, Europol, provided an opportunity to discuss joint European efforts to combat terrorism and cybercrime. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)