ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 – The priority of Croatia’s EU presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020 will be the rule of law in all member states, Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said after meeting European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova in Zagreb on Thursday.
“During our presidency we certainly want to put emphasis on the rule of law in all member states. We believe that all EU member states need to have a high level of the rule of law,” Bošnjaković told a press conference.
He recalled that in its accession negotiations Croatia had undertaken reform measures to reach the necessary level so that it could become an EU member. “Today we undertake many measures to make the judiciary as efficient, good and fast as possible,” he added.
Bošnjaković said that greater attention would be paid to the training of judges and state attorneys, highlighting the importance of digitisation of the Croatian judicial system.
Jourova said that a lot of work was still to be done on judicial reform, recalling a recent conference on the importance of the judiciary for the economies of the member states.
That is a very important aspect and I think we need to do much more to increase the quality and the speed of work of justice systems so that we can win the greater trust not only of citizens but of investors as well, she said.
Jourova said that she and Bošnjaković had discussed digitisation as a way of increasing the efficiency of the Croatian judiciary.
She said that during the Croatian presidency of the EU further talks on the new EU budget and the whistleblower directive would be on the table.
Jourova is scheduled to meet Economy Minister Darko Horvat on Friday to discuss consumer policy and unfair trading practices, particularly the dual quality of products.
Jourova said that the dual quality of products was an unfair trading practice because in the EU it is unacceptable for one producer to have the same product of different qualities, depending on the market it is intended for.
Jourova said her talks with Croatian officials, including President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, would focus on the forthcoming elections for the European Parliament and the issue of fake news and disinformation.
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