Programme

Hybrid event “Annual Conference on Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law"

Monday, 26 September 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Moderation of the conference: Florence RANSON, REDComms

Interpretation: ES-EN-FR-RO

Agenda

09.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. | Online test and coffee

10.00 a.m. - 10.30 a.m. | Opening session

• Christa SCHWENG, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
• Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice

10.30 a.m. - 12.00 a.m. | Key developments 2021-2022

Discussion based on the European Commission's Rule of Law Report and the EESC FRRL Group's synthesis report.

10.30 a.m. - 11.00 a.m. | Presentation of the European Commission's 2022 Rule of Law Report

• Annegret KEMPF (Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, DG JUST): Methodology of the Rule of Law Review Mechanism
• Sara VASSALO AMORIM (DG JUST): Justice system
• Jeroen BLOMSMA (Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, DG HOME): Anti-corruption framework
• Audrius PERKAUSKAS (Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, DG CNECT): Media pluralism and media freedom
• Sara VASSALO AMORIM (DG JUST): Other institutional issues relating to checks and balances
• Annegret KEMPF (DG JUST): Follow-up to the Rule of Law Report

11.00 a.m. - 11.10 a.m. | Presentation of the EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law (FRRL) Group's synthesis report

• Cristian PÎRVULESCU, President of the EESC FRRL Group

11.10 a.m. - 12.00 a.m. | Discussion

• Q&A with the audience

12.00 a.m. - 01.30 p.m. | Lunch break

01.30 p.m. - 03.00 p.m. | Roundtable 1: The EU response after the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE): the role of civil society in upholding and promoting the Rule of Law in the EU

• Gerhard HUEMER, Director, SMEunited
• Petros FASSOULAS, Secretary General, European Movement International
• Carlotta BESOZZI, Coordinator, Civil Society Europe
• Pierre-Dominique SCHUPP, Vice-President, Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
• Doros POLYCARPOU, Executive Director, KISA – Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism (Cyprus)
• David NEJJAR, Legal Department Representative, Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (German Federation of Journalists), (Germany) (remotely)
• Ronan KENNEDY, Democratic Freedoms Policy Officer, Irish Council for Civil Liberties (Ireland)

03.00 p.m. - 03.30 p.m. | Coffee break

03.30 p.m. - 05.00 p.m. | Roundtable 2: From recommendations to action: following up on the European Commission's Rule of Law Report recommendations

• Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
• Waltraud HELLER, Project Manager, EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) (remotely)
• Isabelle SCHÖMANN, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation
• Nino TSERETELI, Research Officer, Democracy Reporting International  
• Natacha KAZATCHKINE, Member of the Working Group on EU Internal Human Rights Policy, Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN)
• Julie ROSENKILDE, Director, NYT Europa (Denmark)
• Berta ÁLVAREZ CIORDIA, Coordinator, Fundación Abogacía Española (Spanish Bar Council Foundation) (Spain)
• Marek SVOBODA, Director of Programs - CEELI Institute (Central and Eastern European Law Initiative) (Czech Republic)
• Deimantė ŽEMGULYTĖ, Project Leader, Transparency International, (Lithuania)

05.00 p.m. - 05.30 p.m. | Keynote concluding speech

• Edita HRDÁ, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU

Interpretation requested from French, English, Spanish and Romanian into French, English, Spanish and Romanian.