Consultative Forum

The Consultative Forum provides an platform for the Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions of the EU Member States to discuss mutually relevant issues, and share experience and best practice. As well as hosting Consultative Forum meetings, Eurojust provides the Consultative Forum with logistical and financial support.

The idea of establishing a Consultative Forum involving all Member States was first considered in 2007, during a conference organised by Eurojustice. This project was further discussed in September 2008 under the French EU Presidency and in May 2010 under the Spanish EU Presidency, in a meeting organised in Madrid with the support of Eurojust. Following this meeting, a document containing Guidelines for a Future Mandate of the Consultative Forum was prepared. The Consultative Forum was eventually established at a meeting at Eurojust in December 2010 and was convened by the Board of Prosecutors General of Belgium under the Belgian EU Presidency. On this occasion, the Consultative Forum agreed on its mandate.

Main goals
Consultative Forum meetings

Main goals

The main goals of the Consultative Forum are to:

allow the Prosecutors General and Directors of Public Prosecutions in the Member States to share experience and best practice in investigating and prosecuting serious and organised crime, in the use of investigation techniques, as well as in judicial cooperation in criminal matters and the use of mutual recognition instruments;
discuss any relevant EU legislative and policy initiatives, assess their impact on the work of prosecutorial authorities, and address common conclusions to the EU institutions; and
provide expert judicial input and actively contribute to the development and implementation of the EU Internal Security Strategy.

Consultative Forum meetings

The Consultative Forum meets regularly, at the invitation of the Prosecutor General or Director of Public Prosecutions of the Member States holding the EU Presidency during the year. In general, one meeting is held each year at Eurojust’s premises in The Hague. To better achieve its objectives, the Consultative Forum has decided to function with an informal and flexible dialogue structure.

Over the years, the Consultative Forum has discussed and drawn conclusions on a wide range of matters of relevance to prosecutorial authorities, including the fight against terrorism and crimes affecting the EU’s financial interests, migrant smuggling, the European Investigation Order (EIO) and the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), victims’ rights, e-evidence gathering and the setting up of a European Digital Justice infrastructure, and the future of Eurojust.

The conclusions of the Consultative Forum are transmitted to the relevant institutions of the European Union for their consideration and are published and widely disseminated as Council documents. These conclusions, as well as the list of topics discussed at the meetings, are available here.