27-09-2023 11:07
The Deputy Minister of Justice Emil Dechev held a working meeting with the new Counsellor for the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in Bucharest, Kerstin Agneta Wahlberg, who took up this position in August this year.
Deputy Minister Dechev, who is also the Head of Programme Area 19 "Correctional Services and Pre-Trial Detention" of the Justice Programme of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 (NFM), briefed the Council on the progress in the implementation of the Programme.
The main highlights were the construction works of the new prison complex in the village of Samoranovo, the projects implemented in the field of domestic and gender-based violence, as well as the projects in the field of the judiciary and ensuring its better functioning in relation to the recruitment, selection and career development of magistrates.
Kerstin Wahlberg said that the Norwegian Embassy intends to organise two communication events - in Bucharest and Sofia, at the end of November 2023, with the aim to present the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and the results achieved in this programming period.
The new programming period of the mechanism and possible action measures in the area of the rule of law and the penitentiary system were also discussed.
After the meeting, which took place at the Ministry of Justice, Ms. Wahlberg visited the construction site in the village of Samoranovo, where a completely new penitentiary complex is being built. It includes a pilot prison for 400 prisoners, a training centre for the staff of the General Directorate for the Execution of Penalties, a social centre, a school, workshops, a transitional ward, an administrative building, etc. This is the largest project of the Justice Programme funded by the NFM.