Brussels, 14/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 14 December, the justice ministers of the EU meeting in Brussels adopted their position on European investigation orders, an initiative proposed in 2010 by a group of seven countries (United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), which will allow investigators from a member state to have facilitated access to evidence (material or other) in another member state. In practice, the member state leading the investigation will send a European investigation order to the other member states to which it would like to extend its investigation and those countries, on the basis of mutual recognition, will adopt that order by tasking its teams with new searches for evidence, from interviewing witnesses to confiscating goods. As the source explained on Monday 12 December, this European investigation order does not aim to allow national investigators to travel directly to the other country and seek evidence themselves, but simply to facilitate and accelerate procedures between the competent authorities.
By virtue of the compromise reached at the Council, this European investigation order may also cover infiltration or interception of communications and the monitoring of bank transactions, but a few safeguards are nonetheless planned: if these requests are felt to be too intrusive or to contravene certain data protection provisions, for example, the state executing the request may find alternative methods, but these must fulfil the same objective, a Council source explained.
Restrictions were also brought in to allow a member state to refuse to execute an order, for example if it may harm “national security or the interests of the state, or even immunities established within the member state”, the Council explains, such as civil servants' immunity, or certain provisions linked to press freedom limiting criminal liability.
Another clarification - the member state tasked with executing the order must provide confirmation of having received it within 30 days and must implement the order within 90 days. It is worth noting that the country which carries out the order will bear the costs for the requested investigation. The text will now be put before the European Parliament. (SP/transl.fl)