Judicial cooperation: creation of a European judicial network

The Committee has unanimously adopted the report by Rinaldo BONTEMPI (PES, I), thereby endorsing the Council's proposal for a Joint Action to set up a European judicial network (Article K.6 of the Treaty - third pillar - consultation procedure). The aim of the proposal is to make the fight against all forms of serious crime more effective. The creation of such a network would lead to better judicial cooperation between Member States, improved understanding of each other's legal traditions and greater sharing of information received by the judicial authorities. A computerised list would be drawn up of cases already concluded or pending, to which access would be allowed wherever there was evidence of a link. The network would also ensure greater transparency, thereby allowing more effective parliamentary scrutiny. MEPs also believe that the "contact points" of which the network is to consist should have the best possible qualifications and experience. Lastly, the report calls on the Council to define clearly the relationship between these new judicial cooperation measures and the role to be played by Europol. �