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Opening remarks by Commissioner Reynders at United for Justice Conference in Ukraine

European Commission

Speech
4 March 2023
Brussels

"Check against delivery"

President Zelenskyy,

Your Excellences, Dear friends,

Let me start by thanking you for inviting me to participate in this conference on the very important issue of accountability.

It has now been more than a year that Russia unleashed its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. Until this very day, Europe continues to witness the bravery of Ukraine's citizens.

Your courage deserves a European response that is up to the task.

Since the very beginning of this war, the European Union has been on your side. Let me assure you, that the European Commission is ready to provide the support you need moving forward.

It this respect, we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to end impunity for the international crimes committed by Russia here in Ukraine.

Dear President Zelenskyy, Prosecutor General Kostin,
we are with you, for as long as it takes.

As our joint work continues to tackle the complex legal questions that underpin our collective efforts, we must work in a logical order.

First, evidence.

I want to congratulate Eurojust President Hamran and his team for launching the new Core International Crimes Evidence Database last week.

Once this Database will be operational, it can be used for storing evidence of crime of aggression.

In addition, we are moving forward with the establishment of an international centre for the prosecution of the crime of aggression against Ukraine - the ICPA, which enjoys the full support of all our Member States.

This Centre will be attached to the existing Joint Investigation Team at Eurojust. It will ensure that investigations supported through the JIT are conducted in coherent and cooperative manner.

In this respect, let me also highlight the role of the International Criminal Court, which participates in the Team, and will be able to provide strategic guidance on how evidence can best be collected and used by prosecutors.

The modalities of the centre's functioning in practice now need to be agreed on. The members of the Joint Investigation Team will now formally establish the ICPA by amending the agreement. Progress is made in this respect, and we foresee the Centre to be fully operational by this summer.

Together with the Commission's experts, we remain at our counterpart's disposal to help put in place the necessary arrangements.

Moving onto prosecutions, the European Commission presented in November last year a series of options to ensure accountability. These options are currently being discussed in more detail.

Regarding the crime of aggression, there is a common understanding among EU Member States that, this crime must not go unpunished.

Discussions will therefore continue amongst the members of the 'Core Group' next month, with 24 EU Member States plus Australia, Canada, Liechtenstein, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.

Simultaneously, I want to emphasize my full support to the possibility of extending the ICC's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in the future.

Such a development could only be a positive contribution to the international rule-based order, in which the ICC must remain the key jurisdiction to address core international crimes.

Let me very briefly also touch upon the question of reparations, as making Russia pay for the damage it has caused is also a form of ensuring accountability.

In this regard, we support the establishment of an international claims register to record evidence from citizens of damages, loss and injury as a result of Russia's war of aggression.

With regards to the payment of the damages claimed, as well as the broader reconstruction costs, we are ready to support discussions at the international level. Internally, we are actively reflecting how we could make use of frozen Russian assets for this purpose.

For me it is evident that we need to be ambitious and creative but our legal solutions must respect the laws that we defend.

It is evident that when it comes the aforementioned needs, international cooperation is key.

The Dialogue Group, which is being launched today, will be the adequate forum to coordinate our efforts.

It will be an honour for the Commission to co-chair the bi-annual plenary meetings to take stock of the group's progress.

Together with the European External Action Service we will also co-chair the work of the group to coordinate and strengthen assistance to the Prosecutor General's Office.

By having regular meetings in the context of the new Dialogue Group, we will continue respond more efficiently to the needs of the Prosecutor General's Office, be it with technical assistance such as for a new electronic case management system, for capacity-building, or with equipment.

Let me conclude by stating that the steps I outlined in my speech, cannot be the end of our collective efforts.

I hope that the discussions that will take place during this conference will provide us with new and creative approaches to move forward on ensuring accountability for the horrendous crimes committed by Russia.

President Zelenskyy, Prosecutor General Kostin, know that you have our full support in this regard.

Thank you.