EU rights on the backburner

An EU letter of rights for crime suspects is set to be kicked back into the long grass by Europe’s justice ministers two years after being proposed.

Human rights campaigners Amnesty International and the UK Justice group  are calling on the EU to get on with it.

Two years have passed since the European commission set out minimum procedural safeguards for people arrested in the EU – proposals that had themselves been delayed for years.

Although presented to the council of EU justice ministers in May 2004 the proposals have never been debated by national governments.

Over the same period, justice ministers have passed a raft of EU anti-terror legislation – often measures that have raised civil liberties fears.

Campaigners are not impressed that, while on the table, ministers have no concrete prospects or timetable for moving forward.

“The council will take note of progress made with the negotiation of this framework decision,” notes an EU document.

Amnesty and Justice are concerned that without a “political signal from the council, the project remains at risk”.

"Taking note of progress is just not good enough. After several failures to reach agreement and meet self imposed deadlines, the council should be worried about delivering on its promises,” said Amnesty’s EU spokesman Dick Oosting.

“Failure will send the wrong political message to European citizens and neighbours and solidify the current one-sided approach to judicial cooperation, including the fight against terrorism.”

The commission proposed that all crime suspects arrested in the EU be given a letter of rights.

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