Answer given by Mr Reynders on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission is closely monitoring the situation regarding the effectiveness of justice systems in all Member States, including Italy, in the context of the European Rule of Law Mechanism, the EU Justice Scoreboard and the European Semester.

As noted in the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report, country chapter for Italy[1], this monitoring includes envisaged reforms aiming at streamlining the Italian civil and criminal procedure, measures increasing human resources in the justice system as well as further digitalisation of the justice system.

In this context, the Commission is also monitoring the specific projects to establish proximity offices to enhance the courts’ accessibility with the involvement of local authorities and the use of the digital civil trial.

• [1] SWD(2020) 311 final.