At a meeting of the committee on civil liberties of the European Parliament on Thursday 12 April, rapporteur Nathalie Griesbeck (ALDE, France) took stock of the inter-institutional trialogue negotiations on the draft regulation setting in place a mutual recognition mechanism for the decisions to freeze and to confiscate assets of criminal origin made by the member states (see EUROPE 11694).
She reported that negotiations are going well and taking place in the right spirit. She particularly stressed the energy of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which is very keen to conclude the dossier before the end of its mandate, she said.
Readers may recall that the Council reached its negotiating position in early December (see EUROPE 11922) and Parliament reached its own in early January (see EUROPE 11937), with the first trialogue meeting on 23 January (see EUROPE 11848). Two further political trialogues and four technical meetings have also been held since then.
While the member states debated the form of the legal instrument (see EUROPE 11920), the MEPs were clear from the beginning that they wanted a regulation rather than a directive – a question that now seems to have been settled. “Initially, it was a little chaotic, we had to discuss things a bit and fight to get everybody on the same line”, she reported.
Other points, however, are still open. The inclusion in the text of a non-recognition and non-execution clause concerning the freezing and confiscation decisions, based on non-compliance with the fundamental rights, is a line in the sand for Parliament, whilst there is still no consensus on the matter with the Council, she explained. “We know that it will be complicated, but we are holding firm”, she said.
Another outstanding point is the speed of procedures. Parliament added various timelines, for instance setting at 20 days rather than 60 the time taken for member states to execute freezing or confiscation decisions. The Council's position on this point is still undefined.
The next trialogue will be held in Strasbourg next week, on the sidelines of the plenary session of the Parliament. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)