DIANA WALLIS MEP CALLS FOR BETTER EU TRAINING FOR NATIONAL JUDGES (Diana Wallis MEP)

Diana Wallis MEP <info@dianawallismep.org.uk>

DIANA WALLIS MEP CALLS FOR BETTER EU TRAINING FOR NATIONAL JUDGES

July 9, 2008 12:08 PM

DIANA WALLIS MEP CALLS FOR BETTER EU TRAINING FOR NATIONAL JUDGES Diana Wallis MEP's' own-initiative report on "the Role of the National Judge in the European Judicial System" was overwhelmingly adopted today by the European Parliament. The report follows over a year of detailed investigation and dialogue with national judges, national authorities and European institutions.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Diana said:

"As a co-legislator, the Parliament is keen ensure that the laws adopted at EU level are properly implemented, including by national judges. National judges are on the frontline of European law, and have a duty to uphold individual rights conferred by it. They also have a duty to recognise and enforce judgments in other Member States and therefore trust needs to be developed between national judges.

"I received over two thousand personal responses from individual judges in all 27 Member States. There is a general feeling, from Lisbon to Vilnius, that European law is rather distant and too complex. National judges are not given the time or the means to overcome this complexity. This must be counteracted.

"National judges must be properly equipped legally and linguistically to deal with the challenges of an enlarged EU legal order. We need better treatment of EU law in national training courses for judges, more judicial exchanges, increased language training, and finally a European judicial academy. These elements properly combined could foster a common judicial culture.

"I am glad that the French presidency is treating this issue as a priority, and call on all Member States to take a very proactive stance on judicial training."