US envoy signals deal on death penalty

Date: 15/11/01

By Craig Winneker

US AND EU officials are considering an agreement that would pave the way for extradition of suspected terrorists to America under the new European arrest warrant by ensuring that the death penalty would not be applied in certain cases.

In his first interview since taking office as US Ambassador to the EU, Rockwell Schnabel said European opposition to capital punishment is the major bone of contention in the effort to get member states to enact tougher anti-terror laws. "As far as extradition to a country such as the United States, where the death penalty exists, there are discussions about the possibility of, when that occurs, that the death penalty would not be a penalty," said Schnabel. "So you would have life imprisonment, whatever. That is one of the ways that we're looking at solving that particular issue." Despite their still nearly united public-relations front in the war on terrorism, the US and the EU remain divided over the arrest warrant issue specifically because of the death penalty.

The US federal government and several states allow capital punishment, but no European nations do. "Different countries have different laws," Schnabel said. "There are different countries that may have to, in effect, change things, including changing their constitution. But there is agreement generally to pursue that." Otherwise, the new ambassador said, "there are very few issues or areas where cooperation has not been going very well. Of course, it is true that in the European Union, not all the countries have direct military capabilities so therefore they are working on other issues such as humanitarian [relief], money laundering. Every country has been contributing in their own way and their own capability."

In recent days, Schnabel said, there have been significant discussions on a "post-Taliban Afghanistan". "We are working very closely with the UN, the Afghans, their neighbours and other key players, including the EU, on how to establish a broad-based government for Afghanistan as quickly as possible," he said. "As the situation stabilises on the ground, the EU and the US will be able to provide greater humanitarian assistance to the Afghan citizens who risk serious famine." A venture capitalist from Los Angeles, Schnabel was busy finishing up his briefings at the State Department on the whole transatlantic portfolio - including such issues as trade disputes, genetically modified organisms and aircraft "hushkits" - when the 11 September attacks changed his job description dramatically.

He arrived in Brussels last month and has focused almost entirely on the fight against terrorism. "It's been very different than one would have expected at the beginning," he said. "If there is any sort of a silver lining - which is very hard to believe that there could be a silver lining in such a tragic event - it would appear to be in the dialogue that has been established in the cooperative effort with the Union, which has been incredibly positive. We hope that that will spill over in other areas, such as trade negotiations."

US and EU officials are considering an agreement that would pave the way for extradition of suspected terrorists to America under the new European arrest warrant by ensuring that the death penalty would not be applied in certain cases.