If the system had been in place a year ago, Pinochet would simply have been sent to Spain for trial. The system let the British government demand the immediate arrest of renegade MI5 agent David Shayler by the French police. Under present European legislation Shayler is protected because political offences are exempt from extradition. Home Secretary Jack Straw and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will join Prime Minister Tony Blair at the summit, which will focus on illegal immigration, cross-border access to justice, drugs, and organised crime. But Britain will argue against a common European legal code and against proposals to appoint a European Public Prosecutor.
Straw is particularly keen to crackdown on the traffic in immigrants.
In some cases 'clients' smuggled into Britain in lorries or with stolen passports are held hostage in Britain until they can pay-off their debts to the smugglers. The summit will discuss co-ordinating police operations against the traffickers, who police believe are also involved in drugs trading. The summit will also discuss controversial plans to control immigration and set up what human rights watchers are calling 'Fortress Europe'. Policy and development experts will present action plans for refugees of special concern to European countries. Human rights groups are seriously concerned about the plans to be discussed at Tampere for Afghan and Iraqi refugees.