Brussels, 31/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The justice and home affairs ministers of the 46 member nations of the Council of Europe will be meeting in Moscow on 9 and 10 November with a view to improving European cooperation in the criminal justice field. Points on the agenda of discussions include the modernisation of European extradition and mutual assistance mechanisms, improved settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the conventions, European cooperation and mechanisms for monitoring and controlling the conventions' operation. These four sessions will be chaired respectively by Vladimir Ustinov, Russian Justice Minister, Kirsti Rissanen, Secretary of State at the Finnish Ministry of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, German Justice Minister, and Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, Spanish Justice Minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Deputy Secretary General for the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, will open the conference on Thursday 9 November. (bc)