Commissioner Jourová on official visit to Finland

Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourová is in Helsinki today. She just delivered a keynote speech on “Justice systems and rule of law in the EU: the ripe time for change” at the Finland 100 years event dedicated to Finnish and European perspectives to the rule of law. She said: “Rule of law is a bedrock of European democracies and one of the core values of the European Union. That’s why one of the priorities of the Commission for next year is to look at ways how to strengthen the enforcement of rule of law in the European Union.The judicial system in the EU is like a chain of Christmas lights. When one light goes off, others don’t light up and the chain is dark.”  The event was concluded by a press point with the Finnish Minister of Justice, Anti Häkkänen, and the Estonian Minister of Justice, Urmas Reinsalu. Commissioner Jourová will also meet Minister Häkkänen for a bilateral meeting. In the afternoon, she will visit a vocational school, benefitting from the European Social Fund to develop the promotion of gender equality and better bridge education and working life. She will participate in a roundtable with businesses on digital topics, including the general data protection regulation. Commissioner Jourová will also visit Vantaa prison and discuss how prison staff can detect radicalisation and violent extremism. Her last visit at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland will focus on artificial intelligence. Commissioner Jourová‘s keynote speech on rule of law is available online and on EbS, where you can also find other pictures and videos from her trip.