Eurojust stays tight-lipped on terrorism cases

Date: 04/10/01

By John Shelley

THE EU's fledgling office of criminal prosecutors has investigated 130 cases of serious crime in its first seven months of operation, including 18 of suspected terrorism. The prosecutors, judges and senior police officers who sit on Eurojust have been involved in examining 18 cases of money laundering, 16 of drugs trafficking, nine of murder and two cases of child abuse since the office was set up in March.

Eurojust, which is made up of one senior law officer from each member state, was set up to improve cooperation between national authorities in the investigation and prosecution of cross-border crime. At a press conference held while justice ministers met to discuss the body's future, current chair of Eurojust Michèle Coninsx remained tight-lipped about details of any cases so far considered. "These are still ongoing investigations and I don't want to put those proceedings at risk at this point," she said.

But she did reveal that Eurojust was taking extra measures to improve cooperation with the US in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. "We will establish and have already undertaken some special steps to meet with the American authorities."

The EU's fledgling office of criminal prosecutors has investigated 130 cases of serious crime in its first seven months of operation, including 18 of suspected terrorism.