The European Commission is releasing today a handbook to support judicial authorities to make better use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to improve the fight against cross-border crime.
Commissioner Jourová opened the High Level Expert meeting on the European Arrest Warrant today, where this handbook was presented. She said ahead of this event: “The European Arrest Warrant is a success story. It shortens drastically the time for criminals to be transferred from one EU country to the other. It allows these criminals to be brought to justice in the country where they committed their crime. A more efficient cooperation between justice authorities will improve safety in Europe “. Since its launch in 2004, the European Arrest Warrant has been the most used EU instrument of judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with 16,144 European Arrest Warrants issued in 2015. The European Arrest Warrant allowed for the speedy extradition of, for example, a terrorist involved in the Paris attacks caught in Brussels and a gang of armed robbers sought by Italy whose members were arrested in six different EU countries. The handbook provides a series of tips and recommendations to help judges and practitioners when they issue or execute a European Arrest Warrant. The handbook, factsheets and statistics are available online.
