Ministers Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Weerwind pay working visit to Italy
On Monday 13 June and Tuesday 14 June, Minister of Justice and Security Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Minister for Legal Protection Weerwind are paying a joint visit to Italy to facilitate the fight against organised and subversive crime. As part of the coalition agreement, the government has undertaken to strengthen cooperation for dealing with organised and subversive crime. Here Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Minister Weerwind also aim to learn from other countries, and particularly from Italy due to this country’s broad experience with combating Mafia crime.
In the Netherlands organised and subversive crime has gained too much ground in recent decades. This is why the government is making strong investments in the justice and security chain, from police officers on the beat and crime investigation through to the justice system, the Public Prosecution Department and the prison system. The Dutch investigation services already frequently collaborate with Italy. Now Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Minister Weerwind aim to establish whether the fight against organised crime in the Netherlands can be further strengthened by learning lessons from the many years of experience that Italy has acquired in combating the Mafia. More specifically, they will learn more about Italy’s anti-Mafia legislation and the country’s prison system, and also see whether elements of these systems contain added value and are also applicable in the Netherlands.
The schedule of this working visit includes discussions with the Italian Minister of Internal Affairs Lamorgese and Minister of Justice Cartabia. They will be talking to Italian police and investigation services, lawyers and other experts on the Italian anti-Mafia approach. A meeting with the Italian Association of Criminal Lawyers is also planned. Furthermore, the ministers will visit Rebibbia Prison in Rome and talk to the police organisations responsible for the Italian surveillance and protection system.
A brief press conference will be arranged on the second day of the working visit, to be held at the Dutch Embassy in Rome. This event will take place on Tuesday 14 June, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Minister Weerwind will present their first impressions from the working visit, what they have seen and which issues have been discussed. Then the press will have the opportunity to ask questions and also to speak to the ministers on a 1-to-1 basis to record quotes.