The European Union’s Justice Ministers will meet in Brussels on Friday 7 March for the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA).
The harmonisation of insolvency law, the Rule of law, the fight against impunity for war crimes in Ukraine and the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights will be the main points raised by the Ministers.
Harmonisation of insolvency law. The Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU has scheduled a policy debate on a proposed Directive aimed at harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law.
This text is part of the action plan for the Capital Markets Union adopted in 2020 and aims to facilitate cross-border investment through targeted harmonisation of pre-pack proceedings.
A partial political agreement was reached last December (see EUROPE 13545/1) under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council.
Friday’s debate should give impetus to the technical discussions with a view to reaching a compromise on the entire project by the end of the Polish Presidency.
Among the sensitive points will be the question of the “pre-pack”, a mechanism enabling certain contracts to be preserved during insolvency proceedings in order to facilitate the takeover of a company in difficulty. This system, which promotes economic continuity, nevertheless raises questions about respect for the fundamental principles of civil law and contractual freedom.
Rule of law and the fight against impunity. The Rule of law will be the topic of discussion at the working lunch.
The Ministers will be discussing the fundamental role of independent justice in European democracies and ways of strengthening judicial institutions in the face of attempts to politicise them and call their independence into question.
Combating impunity for war crimes committed in Ukraine.
At the informal meeting held in Warsaw at the end of January (see EUROPE 13570/2), the Ministers supported closer cooperation between national judicial authorities and the International Criminal Court.
The question of how to contribute to the work of a special tribunal to judge Russia’s crimes of aggression will be examined in detail. The collection and sharing of evidence, in particular via Eurojust and the joint investigation teams, will also be discussed.
Fundamental rights and European funding.
The EU Council will approve its conclusions on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in light of the Commission’s Annual Report 2024.
This report highlights the main issues in terms of respect for fundamental rights and the decisive role of European funding in supporting democracy and civil society.
This year, a consensus was reached, with agreement on the submission of two statements to the minutes of Coreper and the EU Council: one on this specific notion and the other on the importance of ensuring transparency in the funding of civil society.
Although it may seem trivial, this point is directly linked to the concerns expressed by Hungary, which considers that certain civil society organisations could exert a problematic influence on the institutions and Member States. According to this view, EU funding could encourage lobbying that runs counter to the positions of certain governments or MEPs. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)