Brussels, 02/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The two chambers of the French parliament is expected to decide on the draft legal and extradition agreements between the USA, before the next Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 May. This will not necessarily mean that France will accept that the Council gives the green light to the signing of these agreements on this date. As well as calling for basic changes (notably the elimination of all reference to the European arrest mandate), the draft resolutions request the French parliament to participate in the definitive adoption of the agreements. French politicians prefer a traditional ratification procedure by parliament but this is difficult given the a priori agreement by the EU and Member States. The Senate delegation to the EU is therefore requesting that the agreement is finally concluded by both the EU and Member States, which would allow France to follow its usual ratification procedure. If this is not forthcoming, it believes in one way or another, that approval for the agreement could only come from a vote at parliament.
The foreign affairs committee at the National Assembly adopted its resolution on Wednesday 26 March. The European Union delegation at the Senate approved a draft resolution on 1 April, on which the legal committee will have to reach a decision on 9 April. The Senate explains that, "whatever happens, the Senate is expected to reach a definitive decision by the end of April". The French Minister of Justice, however, very curiously asserted to us at the Informal Council of Veria that these committees had not yet made any decisions and it did not know when they would be making them (EUROPE 1 April p 14).