The European Arrest Warrant and its application by the Member States

The framework decision relative to the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States adopted on 13th June 2002 symbolises the launch of the principle of mutual recognition in an area that has so far been on the sidelines of European Union policies, and that is criminal law. It bears witness to the growing desire on the part of Member States for closer co-operation on the free circulation of penal decisions, the only possible answer to the free movement of criminals across the European territory. The European Arrest Warrant, which is the vehicle of considerable progress in the fight against trans-border crime, suffers however due to its own inadequacies and ambiguities. Since the framework decision indeed only serves as a framework for general action the effectiveness of the European Arrest Warrant depends too greatly on national transposal legislation and the attitudes adopted by the competent legal authorities; this is even more the case since some States did not waste time internally in taking liberties with a text that they had voted upon just a few months previously on a European level.

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