Luxembourg/Brussels, 16/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The EU Member States have made progress regarding the drafting of a negotiating brief for a judicial cooperation agreement, although it is not yet certain whether the mandate will be adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 25 and 26 April. "The work of the EU15 legal experts has made it possible to reach consensus on the broad lines, but there are still some points to be settled", European sources say. The EU15 Permanent Representatives must have this proposal of mandate referred to them on Thursday in order to try and finalise the text. According to the main lines adopted by the legal experts of the Fifteen, the mandate will cover "legal cooperation" as a whole and will therefore not be limited to the question of extradition alone, diplomatic sources say. Discussions will cover not only mutual assistance but also extradition. The mandate would aim at drafting one or several agreements, the number of which would be defined at a later date. One may suppose, for example, that judicial assistance and extradition will be covered by two different agreements. The mandate would be given to the President "assisted" by the European Commission, with regular briefing and consultation of Member States, grouped in a specially created committee, the same diplomats say. Negotiations would be based on agreements concluded between the Member States and the United States, as "points of departure for negotiations". Respect of human rights and the "constitutional principles" of the Member States would be included In the general principles to be honoured in the agreements and negotiations. The negotiating brief would leave the Presidency margins of manoeuvre, but not on some points such as the death penalty, where the European position will be "firm and final". The ambition of reaching such an agreement had been declared after the attacks on 11 September, and confirmed by the EU15 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers. During their last Council, on 28 February, the JHA Ministers had pointed out that they hoped "if possible" to adopt the mandate during the Council on 25 April.
The extradition of nationals, or their temporary handover, is one of the most discussed subjects in preparation of the mandate. For now, only the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Ireland allow certain forms of extradition of their nationals, under different conditions, explains one expert. The United States hopes in particular to reach an agreement on the extradition of nationals ("That is truly where we see added value", said one diplomat). The European Union, for its part, considers the different issues are equally important and should be linked, in order to "see judicial cooperation as a global thing", say European sources.
The Spanish Foreign Minister showed proof of rather excessive optimism on Monday evening when he hoped the judicial cooperation agreement between the European Union and the United States would be approved at the EU/United States summit to be held on 2 May in Washington. The judicial assistance agreement against terrorism "will be discussed and if possible approved at the next EU/United States Summit", he said after the General Affairs Council. It is undeniable that cooperation against terrorism in general, and the elaboration of a bilateral judicial cooperation agreement between the two blocs in particular, will be the essential points taken up at the Summit. The negotiation of such a sensitive agreement, however, will take time. "Nothing will be approved at the Summit on 2 May", says the American side, which above all states it is necessary to "wait and see what the European Union has to propose". "We already have bilateral agreements with the Member States, and an agreement with the EU should have added value", notes one US diplomatic, for whom this would "of course" include the extradition of nationals. Americans also insist on an explicit guarantee that the extradition of presumed terrorists cannot be refused on the pretext that it is a matter of political action. Once the European mandate is adopted, the Americans may establish their own position. Informal meetings take place regularly.