Opening Conference Euromed Justice III Post Press Release
Opening Regional Conference - EuroMed Justice III Project Brussels, February 29th, 2012
The Opening Conference of the EuroMed Justice III Project took place in Brussels on the 29th of February, 2012. At this occasion, Mr Marcus Cornaro, Director Neighbourhood, Directorate-General Development and Co-operation EuropeAid, officially launched the new regional project Euromed Justice III.
Fully taking into account the lessons learned by Euromed Justice I and II, Euromed Justice III will continue encouraging and facilitating the dialogue between the Euro-Mediterranean Partner Countries on the access to justice and legal aid, on the resolution of cross-border family conflicts and on criminal and penitentiary law. The EU is funding this project with a budget of € 5 million over the period 2011-2014.
Opening the Conference Mr. Cornaro stressed the operational nature of the project, by declaring that "Euromed Justice III Project which complements our bilateral initiatives constitutes a fundamental concrete tool towards the reinforcement and deepening of democracy, and establishment of a fair judicial order".
The Conference offered an opportunity to introduce the content, the working methodology and the timeline of the activities that will be developed during the three years of the project lifecycle. All the representatives of the ENPI South Partner Countries, as well as of the EU Member States renewed their commitment to increase the dialogue and exchange on judicial matters. Their engagement allowed the preparation of a draft work plan which will be consolidated in the next weeks and that take into account the specific expertise of each country.
Euromed Justice III was welcomed also by the European Agencies and institutions, and the international organizations represented at the conference such as Eurojust, the EJN, the CCBE, The Hague Conference, the UNODC, the European Judicial Network, the Council of Europe, that offered to share their expertise in order to attain this project's objectives.
