The rule of law in the EU – putting the security into the ‘Area of Freedom, Security and Justice’

Article abstract:

This article examines the activities of the EU under the Third Pillar - Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters - most particularly those taken by the EU is response to the terrorist attacks of September 11. It considers the European arrest warrant, the EU definition of terrorism and EU measures concerning the financing of terrorism, as well as the activities of Europol and Eurojust. The article assesses these EU actions with reference to concerns of democratic accountability, judicial control and fundamental rights, but also highlights the growth of an EU criminal law jurisdiction which is both substantive and procedural, legislative and operational and suggests that, in the post-September 11 haste to pass security measures, the other elements of the area of freedom, security and justice - freedom and justice - have been ignored.