The final conference of the EU funded EPHESUS project – Promoting Fundamental Rights in (Post-) Pandemic Times in Cross-Border Proceedings, was held on January 19, 2026, coordinated by the Center for European Constitutional Law, in collaboration with five organizations from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, and Portugal.
87 professionals in the field of justice, including judicial authorities, lawyers, researchers, and academics, had the opportunity to discuss the state of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with an emphasis on the European Arrest Warrant and other EU legal instruments based on the principle of mutual trust in transnational cooperation in criminal matters.
The conference was held at the Law School of University of Seville in a hybrid format, allowing professionals from all over Europe to participate.
Discussions during the conference provided an opportunity to reflect on the main results of the project, the lessons learned from the adaptation measures during the pandemic, the uneven digitalisation of the justice sector among EU Member States, and how European measures can be used in a proportionate manner consistent with safeguarding the fundamental and procedural rights of those involved.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the excellent cooperation and dedication to achieving the project’s objectives to the EPHESUS project consortium: Universidad de Sevilla (Spain), IPS_Innovative Prison Systems | ICJS Innovative Criminal Justice Solutions (Portugal), Center for the Study of Democracy (Bulgaria), and European Strategies Consulting (Romania).
Special thanks for their presentations during the conference to Mr. Dimitrios Zimianitis, Prosecutor, Head of MLA & Extradition Department, Athens Court of Appeals/ former European Prosecutor at the EPPO, Ms. Malamati Petkana, Judge, Piraeus Court of Appeals, Contact Point of SIRENE Network, Ms. Areti Skafida, Deputy Public Prosecutor of Piraeus, Ms. Esther Montero Pérez de Tudela, Judge – Criminologist, Mr. Antonio Gutiérrez Cardenete, Court Clerk, and Mr. Ginés Zamora, Lawyer (Spain), Mr. Costin Lucian Gheorghe, Judge, and Ms. Iulia Lulciuc, Judge (Romania), and Ms. Marieta Nedelcheva, Judge, European Judicial Network Contact Point for Bulgaria, Mr. Ioan Durnescu, from European Strategies Consulting, in Romania, Ms. Beatriz Martins and Mr. João Gomes from IPS_ Innovative Prison Systems, in Portugal, Ms. Delyana Doseva, from the Center for the Study of Democracy, in Bulgaria, as well as all participants for their interesting perspectives.
Finally, we would like to express our warmest thanks to the University of Seville Universidad de Sevilla for hosting us at the Law School and for their support in making this conference possible.
