| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.6, 16.2.06 |
| Publication Date | 16/02/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 16/02/06 The Austrian government hopes to clinch an agreement on the proposed warrant for transferring evidence between member states when the Union's justice and interior ministers meet next week (21 February). But diplomats say that finalising a deal could be tough for the Austrian presidency of the EU because of concerns raised by Germany and the Netherlands. The blueprint for an evidence warrant was recommended by the European Commission in November 2003. It is intended to speed up the transfer of documents, data or objects from one state to another by laying down the principle of mutual recognition of judicial orders. It would also allow evidence gathered on a suspect in one EU country to be used in criminal proceedings in another. Ant-nio Vitorino, the then commissioner for justice and home affairs, described it as "an important first step towards replacing the complex mosaic of international and EU conventions governing the cross-border gathering of evidence by a single body of EU law". The warrant needs unanimous support from EU governments to be introduced. Most member states are backing the warrant. But Germany is arguing for extra safeguards on fundamental rights. Berlin wants to ensure that legal remedies are provided so that an evidence warrant may be challenged and that German courts can assess if issues of rights guaranteed under its national constitution are at stake before transferring evidence. A German diplomat said that his government's concerns were "more pronounced than those of other member states". The Netherlands has strong views on the so-called territoriality principle, according to a Dutch diplomat. The Dutch are pressing for provisions that would enable a judicial authority to block the handing over of evidence to another jurisdiction if it related to an offence carried out on Dutch soil. Austria has held talks with German and Dutch officials over the past week in a bid to reach agreement. A spokesman for the Austrian presidency said that progress was being made but it was too early to say if a deal could be brokered in time to be approved by the justice and interior ministers on Tuesday. The evidence warrant proposal has been criticised by civil liberties campaigners. Tony Bunyan from the organisation Statewatch said: "Germany's demand that legal remedies should be available is essential. If member states want to harmonise the procedure for collecting evidence, why are they not prepared to harmonise peoples' rights to legal remedies?" Tuesday's council meeting will also see the formal adoption of a controversial scheme for the mandatory retention of telecommunications data for use in terrorism and serious crime investigations. The data retention system was approved by a majority vote in the European Parliament during its December session, despite fears raised by civil libertarians, telephone and internet service firms. Article reports that the Austrian Presidency of the Council was hoping to broker an agreement on the proposed warrant for transferring evidence between EU Member States at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, meeting on 21 February 2006. Both the German and the Dutch Government had raised objections. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Justice and Home Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, Germany, Netherlands |
