The Council of Ministers approves the project to regulate international legal cooperation

Spain may correct errors in applications, apply modifications or divide them between authorities

The Council of Ministers has approved a bill proposed by the Ministry of Justice on the body of the European Union (EU) Eurojust to regulate conflicts of jurisdiction, international legal cooperation networks and personnel dependent on the Judicial Administration in the Exterior.

This bill seeks to adapt the legal system of Spain to European regulations, that is, to the regulations of the European Parliament and Council on the Eurojust body, the European Union Agency for Criminal Judicial Cooperation.

As announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Justice, this initiative introduces improvements in the call, selection and appointment of candidates who will occupy the positions of national, deputy or assistant member. The call will be published in the BOE and a commission will be created to choose a list of candidates.

Another of the criteria applied by the Ministry led by Pilar Llop is gender equality, by including a clause to achieve, within, a balanced presence of men and women.

Founded in 2002, Eurojust is a body with its own legal personality aimed at improving collaboration between the judicial authorities of the EU member countries, especially in cases of organized crime considered serious.

In its 2021 Annual Report, Eurojust estimated more than 10,000 cross-border criminal investigations and 818 of them were involved, either actively or passively, Spain, the fourth country with the highest workload and the third with the highest demand for assistance by the rest of the national delegations.

The new rule includes the powers that national members must have in the Member States and establishes a common minimum to give "homogeneity" to joint operations.

Each Member State may give its national member additional powers. Spain may correct errors in the application, apply modifications or divide it between competent authorities.

In urgent cases, and as long as it is not possible to determine or contact the competent authority, the member of each country will be authorized to operate directly, although they will have to report what they have done "as soon as possible".

"With this text we move forward in adapting our regulations to the European framework, promoting a transparent selection process that introduces equality criteria", highlights Minister Llop.