Eurojust, at the forefront of judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the European Union

Abstract

The realisation of an actual European judicial area within the framework of freedom, security and justice without internal borders the Union must offer its citizens requires the adoption of structural measures intended to ease the coordination of judicial inquiries and proceedings of the Member States. To such purpose, a third-generation body has been added to the practice of exchanging liaison magistrates and the European Judicial Network, Eurojust, which on account of its structure and functions it is being consolidated as the main actor in judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the European Union. 
The tool enabling a better appreciation of the work developed by Eurojust is the fact of holding operational meetings, where the different competent authorities from the Member States involved, or even, from third countries or bodies such as Europol or OLAF can exchange information and evidences directly, coordinate simultaneous operations in different countries, and evaluate the advisability of creating a joint investigation team or search a more efficient solution to a certain jurisdiction conflict. In order to achieve the maximum efficiency out of this work carried out by Eurojust —and, in general, of the fight against cross-border crime— cooperation and coordination relationships have been created and consolidated between Eurojust and the main actors of judicial cooperation in crime matters and the fight against organized crime in the Union, as well as with third countries and bodies, with unquestionably positive results. 
In the immediate future, the consolidation of Eurojust’s role developing its whole potential is a priority, so that the idea of creating a European Public Prosecutor’s Office starting from Eurojust can be resumed in a second momentum, in accordance with Article 86 of the TFEU, still a far away possibility.