A vélemény adatlapja 

Meeting with the Mr. Raffaele Sabato, European Court of Human Rights judge

On the 11 September 2019, Mr. Iacop met in Strasbourg, Mr. Raffaele Sabato, judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Italy and discussed about the importance of objective and transparent parameters for proper monitoring the rule of law and about the key role of the case law of the Court of Justice in developing these parameters.

Exchange of views with the Bureau of the Chamber of Regions, Congres of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

On the 11 September, Bureau of the Congress Chamber of Regions of Congres of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe invitated Mr Iacop, CoR rapporteur on the rule of law, to present his opinion. Chamber members represent authorities at a level between central and local government which have either self-governing or state-like powers.

Meeting with the Secretariat of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is a pan-European political assembly which includes 636 members representing over 200,000 authorities in 47 European states.
Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, improve local and regional governance and strengthen authorities' self-government. It pays particular attention to application of the principles laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. It encourages the devolution and regionalisation processes, as well as transfrontier co-operation between cities and regions.

Meeting with Mr. Pierre Garrone, Head of Division, Secretariat of the Venice Commission

On the 10 September, Mr. Iacop met Mr Pierre Garrone, Head of Division at the Secretariat of the Venice Commission and discussed about the monitoring and sanctioning mechanism putted in place by European Commission and about the importance of the Rule of law checklist drafted by the Venice Commission.

Meeting with Olga Savran, Manager of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the OECD

In preparation of his opinion, on the 6 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law, met Olga Savran, Manager of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the OECD.

The discussion focused on the importance of the effective fight against corruption in the rule of law mechanism. The rule of law is crucial for stable democracy, social justice and domestic peace. Equally important is the confidence that citizens have in state institutions and their representatives.

Good governance and the fight against corruption require oversight not just from national institutions, but also from local, and regional communities and civil society.

Meeting with Julien Mousnier, Head of Unit, Citizens’ and Consummers’ Rights & Rule of Law, Secretariat General, European Commission

In preparation of his opinion, on the 5 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law, met Mr. Julien Mousnier, Head of Unit, Citizens’ and Consummers’ Rights & Rule of Law, Secretariat General, European Commission

The discussions focused on European Committee of the Regions role, as a key partner and coordinator in the protection of fundamental rights and rule of law, at the level of local and regional authorities, in the EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.

The local and regional authorities constitute an important level of democratic legitimacy and play a central role in the promotion of the culture of rule of law and in monitoring the respect of the principles connected to it.

Meeting with Christine Roger, Director-General, Justice and Home Affairs, Council of the European Union, General Secretariat

In preparation of his opinion, on the 5 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law, met Ms. Christine Roger, Director-General, Justice and Home Affairs, Council of the European Union, General Secretariat

The discussions focused on: how the rule of law tools of the EU be strengthened and developed, on finding new ways to identify possible deficiencies earlier and prevent them and on role of local and regional authorities in the promotion of the culture of rule of law.

Meeting with the Mr. Jan Mulder, Chairman of Supervisory Committee of OLAF

On the 4 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law met Mr. Jan Mulder, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of OLAF and Mr. Rafael Muñoz, member of the Supervisory Committee of OLAF.
The Supervisory Committee of OLAF was established to reinforce and guarantee OLAF's independence by regularly monitoring the implementation of OLAF's investigative function.
The Committee comprises 5 independent outside experts (with the qualifications required in their respective countries for senior posts relating to OLAF's work) appointed by common agreement of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission for 5 years.
The discussions focused on role of local and regional authorities (as well as their associations and the CoR as their EU-level representation) in 'strengthening' the rule of law and in preventing fraud and corruption against the EU's financial interest.

Meeting with Mr. Emmanuel Crabit, Director, Fundamental rights and rule of law, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission

In preparation of his opinion, on the 4 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law, met Mr. Emmanuel Crabit, Director, Fundamental rights and rule of law, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission.

The discussion focused on how should the rule of law tools of the EU can be strengthened and developed and which are the roles of different European actors in ensuring that the rule of law is respected.

Meeting with the representatives of European Trade Union Confederation

In preparation of his opinion, on the 4 September, Mr. Franco Iacop, COR rapporteur on the Rule of law, had a meeting with Ms. Isabelle Schömann (Confederal Secretary) and Mr. Stefan Clauwaert (Senior Legal and Human Rights Advisor), representatives of European Trade Union Confederation.

The discussions focused on the role of social partners and civil society, in promoting and supporting rule of law, democracy, countering disinformation and maintaining open societies, at local and regional level.

Meeting with Non-governmental organizations active in field of media and journalism

In preparation of his opinion, on the 4 September, Mr. Iacop, CoR Rapporteur on the rule of law, hosted a debate with the main non-governmental organizations active in field of media and journalism.

The main topics of the debate were: the strengthening the role of local media in raising citizens' awareness of the importance of the rule of law, the financial support to independent media and the role of media at local and regional level in supporting democracy, countering disinformation and maintaining open societies.