Vice-Minister of Justice Jurga Greičienė: frozen russian assets vital for Ukraine
At the EU Justice Council, Vice-Minister Jurga Greičienė stressed the necessity to resolve the issue of the transfer of frozen russian assets to Ukraine faster.
“The EU Member States have already agreed in principle that the return on frozen russian assets can be used to support Ukraine, for example, in the reconstruction of war-damaged infrastructure. However, we must be more ambitious and accelerate the confiscation and transfer of frozen russian assets to Ukraine. These assets and funds are vital not only for Ukraine's reconstruction but, above all, for its self-defence,” said the Vice-Minister of Justice.
Much attention at the meeting was also paid to the search for other legal instruments in the context of russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.
According to Ms Greičienė, now it is in particular important to discuss the establishment of a fully-fledged International Criminal Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine in order to restore confidence in international law and to bring those responsible for the crime of aggression to justice.
“Now we must also prepare for the enforcement of judgments in absentia, as such proceedings can be the only alternative to impunity. Moreover, we must respond to the need for support for the Ukrainian justice system, so that national jurisdictions could already move from criminal investigations to judicial proceedings concerning the crimes committed in Ukraine,” underlined Ms Greičienė.
The EU Council of Ministers also discussed the issue of ensuring the resilience of the judiciary and prosecutor's offices to criminal organisations, emphasised Lithuania's concerns about politically motivated prosecution of officials by third countries.
The ministers were also briefed about the existing situation on the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime, aspects of judicial cooperation and other legislative proposals.
The EU Justice Council takes place today, 5 March, in Brussels, Belgium.
Last updated: 29-05-2024