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The bloc of European Socialist MEPs have backed a proposal led by the Spanish right - Popular Party (PP), Ciudadanos (Cs) and Vox - to call on the European Commission to consider "expanding the list" of criminal offences that allow automatic extradition within the European Union, including crimes "against public order and constitutional integrity."

Specifically, the Socialists and Democrats group are maintaining this request in their proposed amendments to the European Parliament's draft report on the system of European Arrest Warrants. By contrast, the Greens/EFA group, the United Left (GUE/NGL) and two Czech MEPs from the European PP have tabled amendments to remove the recommendation in connection with offences "against public order and constitutional integrity".

This Monday, MEPs from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs discussed the amendments tabled to amend the report drafted by Spanish PP representative Javier Zarzalejos. Among the four "shadow rapporteurs" involved in the report are two other MEPs from the Spanish right, Maite Pagazaurtundúa (Cs) and Jorge Buxadé (Vox).

It is expected that the committee will vote on the final text at the end of November and that the plenary of the European Parliament will ratify it before the end of the year. The report is only an assessment of the functioning of the European Arrest Warrant system and contains recommendations to the European Commission, but will not directly trigger a reform. This step lies in the hands of the European executive, which has so far been reluctant to initiate legislative changes.

PP, Cs and Vox have used the report to rekindle the debate on the reform of the arrest warrants in the EU following the case of the exiled Catalan president and current MEP, Carles Puigdemont. In 2018, Spain sought the extradition of the pro-independence leader from Germany on a major charge of rebellion, but this was rejected by a Schleswig-Holstein court.  

Commission opposed in the past

This is not the first time that the European Parliament has tried to push for a reform of the European arrest warrant system, but so far it has not been successful due to the refusal of the European executive. The Parliament called for legislative changes in 2014, but the Commission considered it unnecessary because it considered that the problems identified could be resolved by improving implementation of the already-established system.

 

Main image: The president of the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García, of Spain's PSOE / Efe