Flash! Statement from U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr on His Visit to Bucharest, Romania for the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
June 19, 2019
On June 16th – 18th, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr traveled to Bucharest, Romania, to attend the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial during the Romanian Presidency of the EU. The purpose of the EU-US Ministerial meeting was to ensure that the European Union and the United States continue working closely to fight terrorism and transnational crime. The Ministerial focused on counterterrorism topics, including foreign fighters and countering violent extremism, as well as on migrant smuggling, election interference, and access to digital evidence/cybercrime.
Statement from U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr on His Visit to Bucharest, Romania for the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial
“Romania is one of our strongest partners in the fight against transnational crime. With Romania’s assistance, we have been able to investigate and extradite members of organized criminal groups engaging in worldwide skimming and cyber-enabled fraud operations. Romania also provides critical support to DEA on counternarcotics operations. Our partnership has historically been rooted in a deep commitment to the democratic values of the rule of law and good governance, and a shared understanding that these form the foundation for increasing our shared security and prosperity. My visit to Bucharest for the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial provided the opportunity to reaffirm that the rule of law is an enduring principle, and that all persons, institutions, and entities should be governed by and held accountable to laws that are just, publicly promulgated, and enforced equally and impartially. I appreciated in particular the opportunity to meet with Romanian leadership, including my Justice counterpart, Ana Birchall, to discuss the importance of preserving the rule of law and restoring anti-corruption efforts. We are grateful for Minister Birchall’s engagement and strong support for these important priorities. We hope that, with her leadership, and that of other Romanian officials, Romania will reverse recent amendments that threaten to undermine the ability to fight corruption, and we are confident that Romania will take steps to ensure an efficient, transparent and impartial judiciary. I look forward to deepening our partnership and continuing our close law-enforcement collaboration with this critical ally.”
Joint EU-US Statement Following the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/joint-us-eu-statement-following-us-eu-justice-and-home-affairs-ministerial-meeting
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