site.btaJustice Minister Tsacheva Holds Working Meeting at U.S. Department of State

Washington, November 17 (BTA) - Justice Minister Tsetska Tsacheva held a working meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Europe and EU Affairs Conrad Tribble here on Thursday, her ministry said in a press release Friday. On the first day of her visit to the United States, Tsacheva acquainted Tribble with her ministry priorities during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018. He expressed strong interest in the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) and e-evidence.

The Euro-Atlantic prospects of the Western Balkan countries will be in focus during the Bulgarian EU Presidency, Tsacheva said. She acquainted Tribble, among other things, with the functioning of the EPPO, the fight against money laundering, and personal data protection.

The United States are a key partner when it comes to access to e-evidence and direct cooperation with the suppliers of information services. In 90 per cent of the cases related to e-evidence, the information is stored on servers based on U.S. territory. Therefore, the new EU legislation should promote and facilitate the cooperation between the judicial bodies, and speed up the mutual legal assistance in criminal cases, Tsacheva said.

The meeting also focused on the bilateral relations in the context of the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the U.S., and the continuation of the bilateral dialogue at high and the highest level. Key topics in the bilateral dialogue are: security and defence, the fight against terrorism, economic cooperation, education, and ties between the peoples.