Deputy President of EP Diana Wallis presented the highlights of the Stockholm Programme in Sofia

A legal conference on the topic of "European Legislation and Practices in Support of Good Governance Decisions" started in Sofia. Organizer of the event is the Bulgarian Association for European Law (BAEL) and leading participants are Deputy President of European Parliament Dianna Wallis and Bulgarian judge in the European Court of Justice and chair of BAEL, Alexander Arabadzhiev.

Varna District Court judge and former MEP Dushana Zdravkova opened the event together with Alexander Arabadzhiev. The Bulgarian judge in the European Court of Justice underlined that it is important to talk about how Bulgarian legal community and justice system participate in the pan-European area of Freedom, Security and Justice.

MEP Diana Wallis (ALDE) presented to the Supreme Judicial Council members, to Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court, Constitutional Court judges, MPs and university professors the main highlights of the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - "An Area of Freedom, Security and Justice Serving the Citizen", widely known as Stockholm Programme.
Wallis was invited for her first visit in Bulgaria by Dushana Zdravkova. The British MEP is a Deputy President of EP.

Diana Wallis said to the participants in the conference that with the 5-year Stockholm Programme for the first time after the terrorist attacks from 2001 EU has reached "a moment of balance" in justice reforms in the Community because citizens expect a more active approach to legislation activities, related to their everyday activities and rights and citizens. The Member of European Parliament highlighted that the measures provided for in the document aim at making the four fundamental freedoms clearer to citizens, especially the freedom of movement.

Wallis announced that four EP committees are now working on opinions regarding the so called Stockholm Programme and that the Parliament will present its position on the matter within a couple of weeks. Her forecast is that the EP stance on the topic will be more ambitious than that of the Commission. The MEP also said that in December an EU justice web portal will be launched, providing information on legal and judicial systems of EU member-states.

The head of the EC Representation in Bulgaria and the Supreme Judicial Council member Ivan Dimov made presentations on the role of the legal system in Europe and the functions of Supreme Judicial Council. Judge Arabedzhiev gave an interesting lecture on the control by the Council of European Community on community acts in the area of freedom, security and justice.

The conference will continue with discussion of topics such as the role of national legal practitioners in European legal structures; making the access to justice for citizens easier and the mutual recognition of criminal legal matters.