§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress made towards common EU standards on extradition, in the context of Tampere Conclusion Number 35. [134680]
§ Mrs. RocheI refer the hon. Gentleman to Council Document number 9737/3/00, A Programme of Measures to implement the principle of mutual recognition of decisions in criminal matters, which was deposited in the Library on 16 October 2000.
The Programme of Measures contains proposals for instruments to simplify extradition procedures between member states of the European Union. The first proposal is automatic recognition of the arrest warrant issued by the requesting judicial authority. There are also instruments to apply the principles that (a) member states will either extradite a person who is subject to a final sentence or enforce their sentence and (b) that member states will transfer a convicted person or enforce their sentence, particularly in the case of convicted persons who have escaped.
425WAs with all proposals in the Programme of Measures, the Government will seek to ensure that the instruments are consistent with the relevant provisions in the European Convention on Human Rights.
The review of extradition which the Home Secretary announced on 2 March 2000, Official Report, column 574, is considering how to simplify and streamline extradition from the United Kingdom generally, and within the European Union in particular. A consultation paper will be available in the new year.