Advocacy Visit #Justice4Moldova to Brussels: Justice Reform in the context of EU Accession Negotiations

The Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), in partnership with the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova, Promo-LEX Association, and the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC Moldova), organized an advocacy visit to several institutions of the European Union (EU) as part of the #JusticeForMoldova project, funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Soros Foundation Moldova.

The purpose of the visit to Brussels was to present the EU institutions with the vision and assessments of civil society experts on the progress of justice reform and anti-corruption efforts in the Republic of Moldova in the context of EU accession negotiations.

During the visit, members of the Justice Experts Group, along with representatives of other specialized civil society organizations, participated in working meetings with officials from the European Commission’s Directorates-General (DG NEAR, DG JUST, DG HOME), the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the Secretariat of the European Parliament.

The Moldovan delegation discussed with EU officials recent developments, challenges, and priorities in the justice and anti-corruption sectors, with reference to the European Commission’s Enlargement Report of October 30, 2024. Key topics included:

• Enhancing the efficiency of justice sector reforms and the fight against corruption;
• Prosecutorial reform;
• Interim results of the pre-vetting and vetting processes;
• Activities of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the Superior Council of Prosecutors;
• Reform of the Supreme Court of Justice;
• Creation of a system of specialized anti-corruption judges;
• Implementation of the new judicial map;
• Advancing the reform of the prosecution system.

On this occasion, Moldovan experts presented the main conclusions from the first #Justice4Moldova Shadow Report on the implementation of the Strategy for Ensuring the Independence and Integrity of the Justice Sector, as well as the Shadow Report nr. 1 on the Cluster I (Fundamental Values), both published by research centers from Chișinău (i.e. IPRE and Expert-Grup) in July 2024.

In addition, in collaboration with the Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, an information session was organized with the participation of diplomatic advisers from the Permanent Representations of EU member states responsible for relations with Moldova. Discussions focused on the bilateral screening process and the next steps in Moldova’s EU accession negotiations, scheduled for 2025.

This event was organized within the project “Ensuring the integrity, efficiency and independence of the justice system in Moldova – #Justice4Moldova, funded by the European Union and co-financed by Soros Foundation Moldova. This material was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of IPRE. The content of the material belongs to the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.