REPORTS
Non-conformity of the Greek measures transposing the (Council) Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant (EAW): INFR(2021)2003
Each Member State of the European Union shall apply EU law and take appropriate action to that end. The European Commission is the body responsible for detecting possible breaches of EU law.
In the event that a Member State does not apply Union law and fails to fulfill any of the obligations laid down in the EU Treaties, the European Commission may initiate formal infringement proceedings under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU (details of infringement proceedings here).
The European arrest warrant is a simplified cross-border judicial surrender procedure for the purpose of prosecution or executing a custodial sentence or detention order that has replaced the lengthy extradition procedures that used to exist between EU countries. It is regulated by Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, and in order to ensure the proper functioning of the European arrest warrant, it is important that all Member States fully and correctly transpose all the provisions of this Framework Decision into national law.
However, as mentioned in the “June infringement package: key decisions/9-6-2021”, the European Commission noted that there are issues of conformity with the above framework decision in several Member States, including Greece. These issues concern the non-transposition of the decision into national law or the non-conformity of certain articles of national law with the provisions of the Framework Decision.
For this reason, the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Greece, as it considered that the country had not completed the transposition of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA [infringement number: INFR (2021) 2003].
The European Arrest Warrant abolishes extradition between Member States and replaces it with a system of surrender between judicial authorities, as part of the EU objective to become an area of freedom, security and justice.
It is the first concrete measure in the field of criminal law implementing the principle of mutual recognition, which the European Council referred to as the “cornerstone” of judicial cooperation.
The application of EU law is an obligation of the Member States of the European Union. If possible breaches of EU law are detected, the European Commission may take a series of actions against that Member State to ensure the correct and full application of EU law by initiating infringement proceedings in accordance with Articles 258 and 260 of the TFEU.
In this case the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Greece in the context of infringement proceedings, as it considered that the country had not completed the transposition of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European Arrest Warrant.
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