The Swedish Presidency launched a discussion particularly about a preparation of the Stockholm Program, which should determine goals of the EU in the area of home and justice affairs for the next five years. The purpose of the program should be not only to intensify safety of the European citizens, but also to strengthen their rights and simplify the execution of the rights, especially in cross-border cases.
"It is necessary to adopt such measures which would help citizens to solve their real practical problems. Here I would like to remind that during the Czech Presidency the Member States expressed their will and preparedness to start dealings of a comprehensive and balanced legal instrument modifying matters of cross-border successions. We are glad that the Commission should finally present it, apparently this October," the Czech Minister of Justice said.
The Stockholm Program should be directly related to the multiannual Hague Program for strengthening of the space of freedom, security and justice, adopted by the European Council in November 2004. Also the European Commission called on for the strengthening of the citizens´ rights. According to the Commission, the attention could be paid among others to such matters as the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights, discrimination, racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and homophobia, children rights, rights of the victims of criminal acts or protection of personal data and privacy. Recognition of judgments between the Member States should be even more simplified.
The Informal Meeting itself consists of three parts. „As our key priorities we have chosen: A Europe that Protects, A Europe in a Globalised World based on Responsibility and Solidarity, and Developing a Citizens' Europe of Law and Justice", the Swedish Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask reported.
The Czech Republic also pointed out the service-of-documents issues a new form of which it has just instituted for its citizens. It concerns detection and provision of information on addresses of habitual residence of parties to legal relations for legal proceeding purposes. "Due to our experience the lack of information in this respect is often a cause of an unsuccessful enforcement of law. It is a typical life problem which our practitioners face on a regular basis and which can be tackled by a coordinated action at the EU level. This practical problem frequently worsens the effective judicial cooperation in civil matters and it would deserve a solution at the EU level", the Minister Kovářová stated.
The Czech delegation also reminded its support to the European e-Justice portal at the Council. The portal is about to contain as many interactive functions as possible such as e.g. involving projects of interconnection of existing electronic judicial registers or on-line standardized forms. The portal should not represent only a source of information but also a tool for claiming procedural rights by European citizens in civil proceedings. It should be launched in the middle of December this year already.
Petra Střítecká,
Spokesperson for the Czech EU Presidency