EU Commission warns of European Arrest Warrant misuse

The European Commission issued a progress report on the European Arrest Warrant in April 2011.

Europeans have the right to travel freely within the EU for work, study or holidays. But open borders should not allow criminals to evade justice simply by travelling to another Member State. The European arrest warrant – in effect since 2004 – provides an efficient tool for extraditing people suspected of an offence from one EU country to another, so that criminals have no hiding place in Europe. For example, dozens of suspected drug smugglers, murderers and child sex crime offenders have been brought back to the UK from Spain thanks to the system. While there are many successes, EU Member States can improve how the system – which is based on mutual confidence between national judicial systems – operates, the European Commission found in the report. Member States should use the European arrest warrant with due regard to fundamental rights and the actual need for extradition in each case.

• Primary Source

EUObserver, 12.4.11: EU arrest warrant not for 'bicycle thieves' http://euobserver.com/9/32162

European Commission: RAPID: Press Release: IP/11/454: European arrest warrant fights cross-border crime, but EU Member States can improve how it is used, Commission report says http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/454&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: COM(2001)175: Report ... On the implementation since 2007 of the Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/criminal/extradition/docs/com_2011_175_en.pdf

European Commission: SEC(2011) 430 final - Commission Staff Working Document accompanying document to the third Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation since 2007 of the Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States http://ec.europa.eu/justice/policies/criminal/extradition/docs/sec_2011_430_en.pdf

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