EU COMMISSIONER REYNDERS AT THE LAW FACULTY OF COMENIUS UNIVERSITY IN BRATISLAVA
ON 28 APRIL 2022, A DISCUSSION WITH EU COMMISSIONER DIDIER REYNDER IN THE AUDITORIUM MAXIMUM OF COMENIUS UNIVERSITY IN BRATISLAVA, FACULTY OF LAW ("FACULTY OF LAW")
On 28 April 2022, a discussion with EU Commissioner Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, was held in the Auditorium Maximum room of Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law (hereinafter referred to as the “Faculty of Law”). In his position, he is responsible for ensuring the rule of law within the EU; for improving the enforcement of judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU in the event of a breach of the rule of law; for improving judicial cooperation and the exchange of information between the competent authorities in the field of justice; for maximizing the potential of the use of new digital technologies in the judiciary; for consumer protection and the protection of their rights; for ensuring full implementation and performance of GDPR, etc.
The discussion was co-organized with the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia. The discussion was attended by Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Lucia Mokrá, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Assoc. Prof. Eduard Burda, employees of the Faculty of Law, as well as bachelor's, master's and doctoral students at Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Law, and Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences .
The discussion was opened by the head of the Representation of the European Commission in Slovakia, Prof. Šucha, who welcomed all those present and introduced by Mr. Reynders and gave the floor to the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law, Comenius University in Bratislava, Dr. Andrea Szakács. She welcomed those present on behalf of the Faculty of Law and then gave the floor to Mr. Reynders. At the beginning of the discussion, Mr. Reynders informed about the war in Ukraine, the state of the rule of law in Slovakia, etc.
Later, Mr. Reynders responded to questions from the auditorium that fell within his responsibilities. They concerned, e.g., misleading information, so-called hoaxes, and hate speech on social networks and instruments adopted by the EU to address these negative facts; issues of national identity protection and whether it has the potential to jeopardize further EU integration; political situation in Hungary and Poland, as Eurosceptics; possible follow-up infringement proceedings under Article 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, unanimous versus majority voting as obstacles to the rule of law, etc.
The discussion was very fruitful with well-founded and inspiring questions. We believe that this was not the last visit by the Commissioner, and we look forward to his meeting again.