Cyprus and Greece signed a Memorandum of Administrative Cooperation in the area of Justice, on Thursday.

In statements after signing the memorandum, here, today, the Cypriot Minister of Justice and Public Order Ionas Nicolaou and the Greek Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Stavros Kontonis spoke of a cooperation which extends at EU level and of their will to further deepen it.

In his statements Nicolaou said that with his Greek counterpart they have established cooperation “which does not limit itself within national boundaries but extends particularly in the European area.”

In the context of the EU Council of Ministers, he noted we have promoted matters which affect both countries whether they have to do with justice, counter-terrorism measures are even to do with Europe’s prospects.”

According to the Cypriot minister the memorandum includes cooperation in the area of justice, judicial operation and training and educating judges and other professionals of the justice system. He added that during their meeting they also discussed matters to do with combating corruption, the two countries’ prison systems, as well as human rights.

On his part Kontonis expressed his satisfaction “because today we are implementing an ambitious cooperation programme between the two ministries in many areas for which we are responsible.”

He further clarified that the cooperation between the two ministries is not limited to just one sector but covers the entire spectrum of the justice ministry’s activities.

“From speeding up judicial processes, we move in the area of human rights, we focus on the prisons’ problems, we plan for solutions and we exchange expertise,” he said.

The Greek Minister also assured, among others, that cooperation between the two ministries will continue and will deepen further.