Brussels, 13/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU justice ministers, meeting in Brussels on Friday 13 March, agreed a general approach on legal aid. Little enthusiasm for the general approach was shown by either France or Spain, with Madrid expressing its disappointment at the final text.
The draft directive on the right of suspects or defendants deprived of their liberty to interim legal aid, which was presented at the end of November 2013, now no longer covers minor offences or temporary deprivation of liberty, situations where it may be expected that the person would not exercise his/her right to defence, the Council says. These two conditions specifically displeased Paris. France did not, however, oppose the agreement. Luxembourg felt, too, that the text had strayed too far from the Commission proposal. The Latvian Presidency was to append a statement by those reticent states to the general approach. (Solenn Paulic)