On Tuesday 23 January, the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) overwhelmingly adopted – with 54 votes in favour and one against – the draft report by Assita Kanko (ECR, Belgian) on the proposal for a regulation on the transfer of criminal proceedings between Member States. The nine compromise amendments were adopted en bloc.
The text responds to an urgent need for simplification and effectiveness in the fight against cross-border crime. Presented by the European Commission in April 2023 (see EUROPE 13157/12), this regulation aims to reduce complications and redundancies in legal proceedings involving several Member States.
In particular, it tackles cases of impunity resulting from refusal to extradite under a European arrest warrant.
After the vote, the rapporteur stressed the importance of this legislation as “a crucial step towards better judicial cooperation and faster law enforcement”, in a press release.
The amendments adopted by MEPs strengthen the provisions of the initial proposal, emphasising the clarity of the rules on informing suspects and victims. These changes are in line with other European legislation on victims' rights, ensuring greater legal consistency.
The report also contains important guarantees for the rights of suspects and accused persons, such as the right to prior information and to express their opinion. Legal remedies are available against transfer decisions, both for suspects and defendants and for victims.
This paves the way for interinstitutional negotiations. The draft negotiating mandate will shortly be submitted to the plenary session of the European Parliament for approval, an essential step before the formal start of negotiations with the EU Council, which adopted its position last December (see EUROPE 13306/1).
See the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/aj3 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)