#Romania2019.eu/ Tudorel Toader at LIBE: Romania won't stray from observing rule of law principles

AGERPRES special correspondent Tudor Martalogu reports: The Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union will not stray from the principles of respecting the common European values, fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader gave assurances on Wednesday in presenting the priorities in the field of justice in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice And Home Affairs of the European Parliament (LIBE).

"We will not stray from the general guidelines, from the respect for common values, fundamental rights and liberties, the rule of law," the Romanian minister highlighted.

The Romanian official mentioned that in the work of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council in the Justice area there will be used the "consensus method where possible and the compromise method where necessary".

He announced that a priority in this area will be the advancement in the dossier of creating the European Public Prosecutor's Office, an extremely important project to combat crime in the European Union.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office should be operational by no later than November 2020.

With "criminality on the rise at European and international level, the means of fighting it must in turn rise on the European and international level," Toader said.

Responding to the criticisms expressed by many LIBE MEPs who have voiced concerns about the situation of rule of law and corruption in Romania, the Romanian official said that those criticisms "must be based on correct information and not on anything else." AGERPRES (RO - author: Tudor Martalogu, editor: Gabriela Ionescu; EN - author: Adina Panaitescu, editor: Rodica State)