Text tabled : A7-0144/2012

  Viktor Uspaskich (ALDE), in writing. – (LT) We must establish a genuine common justice area in the EU. Citizens must believe that their rights will be defended wherever they are located in the 27 Member States. Recently, the European Commission admitted that ‘for a long time, the EU has tried to build the European criminal justice area with one hand tied behind its back’. In my opinion, there have been many occasions when the EU also covered its eyes with the other hand. The rapporteur states that growing trust is a prerequisite for common recognition throughout the EU of judicial decisions taken in other Member States. Common minimum standards must be set with regard to the right to a fair trial and the rights of the victims of crime in order to increase this trust. This is a problem in Lithuania. Given the many reports published by the European Council on Foreign Relations, judges in Lithuania are part of the problem because they opt for a more complex system which they can manipulate to their advantage, for example, a ‘tax’ for changing the trial date. According to data from a Eurobarometer poll carried out earlier this year, Lithuanians have little confidence in the courts – only 22% of Lithuanians trust the courts.