The Commission today decided to open infringement proceedings against Croatia and Finland by sending letters of formal notice for failing to transpose the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States (Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA) fully in compliance with EU rules.
The European Arrest Warrant provides for streamlined cross-border judicial surrender procedures: if a judge or magistrate of any Member State issues a warrant for the arrest and detention of a suspect who has committed a serious crime, this warrant is valid throughout the EU. Operational since 1 January 2004, the warrant has replaced the lengthy extradition procedures that used to exist between EU Member States.
To ensure its proper functioning, it is essential that all Member States fully and correctly incorporate all provisions of the Framework Decision into their national law. The Commission considers that the national transposition measures notified by Croatia and Finland do not adequately transpose the Framework Decision. In particular, the Commission has identified shortcomings in relation to transposition of optional grounds for non-execution and mandatory time limits to take a decision whether to execute a European Arrest Warrant.
The two Member States now have two months to take the necessary measures to ensure the correct transposition of the Framework Decision, failing which the Commission may decide to send them a reasoned opinion. The Commission sent letters of formal notice as regards this instrument to Austria, Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and Poland in October and December 2020, as well as to Cyprus, Germany and Sweden on 18 February 2021 and to Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary and Spain in June 2021 and these cases remain open. The Commission continues to assess the transposition of this Framework Decision in other Member States. More details about the European Arrest Warrant are available here and the latest statistics can be found here.