EU arrest warrant enters into force

On 1 January 2004, the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) entered into force between Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The other EU Member States have failed to meet the implementation deadline of 31 December 2003 laid down in the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant.

The European Arrest Warrant will allow these eight EU Member States to secure the extradition of suspected terrorists or criminals more easily than before. The most significant change is the abolition of "dual criminality" - the requirement that a person can only be extradited for an action considered to be an offence in both the country seeking extradition and the country being asked to surrender a suspect. It will also reduce political involvement in extradition by eliminating the practice of giving the justice minister the final say.

The European arrest warrant covers all offences that carry a sentence of one year or more in the country seeking an extradition (such as terrorism, murder, grievous bodily injury, rape, arson, armed robbery, kidnapping, racketeering and trafficking in drugs or weapons).