Today, the “European Investigation Order” enters into force. It simplifies the work of judicial authorities when they request evidence located in another EU country. For instance, if French judicial authorities are tracking terrorists hidden in Belgium, they can ask their Belgian counterparts to interrogate witnesses or conduct house searches on their behalf. This new tool will simplify and speed up cross-border criminal investigations.
Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said: “Criminals and terrorists know no borders. Equipping judicial authorities with the European Investigation Order will help them cooperate effectively to fight organised crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption. It will give judicial authorities access to evidence quickly wherever it is in the EU. I call on all Member States to implement it as quickly as possible to improve our common fight against crime and terrorism. In June we will also discuss with Member States solutions to facilitate the collection and exchange of e-evidence. It is time to fully modernise the tools available to judicial authorities to conduct investigations.”
The European Investigation Order is a sets strict deadlines for its execution, limits on the reasons for refusing such requests and reduces paperwork by introducing a single standard form. It also protects the fundamental rights of the defence. Member States had time to implement it in national legislation by today, 22 May 2017. The European Commission will now analyse the state of the implementation and follow up with Member States in case they have not taken the necessary measures yet. In parallel, the Commission is currently working on solutions to equip judicial authorities with modern investigation tools to simplify their access to e-evidence. This will be further discussed at the Justice Council on 8 June.
The full press release is available online.
