Brussels, 22/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Spanish Presidency is still hoping obtain a mandate for negotiating a legal co-operation agreement with the USA at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 25-26 April, but it is not completely sure if this is possible. Diplomatic sources explained that since the JHA Council on 28 February, "discussions have progressed a little" and it was still a possibility that a mandate could be concluded by the time of the Council in April but it was more likely for this to happen at the Council on 13 June. After the meeting of JHA experts at the so-called "Article 36" Committee at the end of last week, the Presidency decided to arrange a meeting on the subject in the first week of April, to prepare a new draft mandate for the Article 36 Committee meeting on 11-12 April. European sources explained that this would be the moment to see whether the deadline could be respected. At the Council on 28 February, EU Justice Ministers made it known that they intended, "if possible", to adopt a mandate on 25 April, which would enable them to begin negotiations (EUROPE 1 March page 10).
Diplomatic sources are not pleased with the lack of preparation for these discussions, pointing out that they still have not received a complete and detailed document on the bilateral mutual legal assistance and co-operation agreements, which some countries have signed with the USA. All the Member States have concluded a bilateral convention on extradition with the USA and eleven of them: Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (with Germany soon to be added to the list) have concluded mutual legal assistance conventions. Discussions with Member States also focus on, as they did at the last JHA Council, the degree of the mandate's precision and the follow-up to negotiations by Member States. Some diplomats have indicated that if the Presidency want a broader mandate, many delegations that are participating less directly in negotiations, want it to be as precise as possible. Given that Member States have not yet arrived at a common position, informal contacts are being continued with the USA. Member States are also hoping to sign two bilateral agreements with the USA on mutual legal assistance and extradition. Sources close to the EU Presidency explained that, "This distinction can perhaps be made for technical reasons, with two agreements but a single negotiation". The negotiation of a legal co-operation agreement between the European Union and a non-EU country would be the first time this has happened.