Brussels, 28/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 28 November, EU Justice Ministers reached agreement on a measure to facilitate application of the principle of mutual recognition on decisions on supervision measures within the EU. The draft framework decision sets out the rules under which a member state recognises decisions on supervision measures delivered in other member states as an alternative to provisional detention. “I believe that the agreement will help reduce the number of pre-trial detainees and reinforce the right to liberty and the presumption of innocence in the European Union,” said European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot. The excessive use and length of pre-trial detention is one of the main causes of prison overpopulation. Given the risk of flight, non-resident suspects are often remanded in custody, while residents benefit from alternative measures, such as reporting regularly to police. For constitutional reasons, Poland and Hungary have said that they would continue with the verification of double criminality for a raft of crimes (terrorism, homicide, involvement in a criminal organisation). When the framework decision is adopted, member states will, therefore, be able to state that they do not wish to give up the verification of double criminality. “This negates the principle of mutual recognition which was the cornerstone of this framework decision,” a diplomat lamented, noting that is was the third criminal justice decision which has met with the same fate. Luxembourg Justice Minister Luc Frieden called for wide-ranging reflection on the future of the principle of mutual recognition agreed at Tampere in 1999. The forthcoming Czech Presidency of the EU has announced that it would hold a debate on the issue at the informal Council in Prague in mid-January. (B.C./transl.rt)