WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2680/98 by Gerhard HAGER to the Commission. Judicial cooperation
Date: 1998-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, HAGER
Subjects: extradition, fight against crime, international criminal law, international security, joint action, judicial cooperation, organised crime, penalty

14.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 135/93

(1999/C 135/108)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2680/98

by Gerhard Hager (NI) to the Commission

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Judicial cooperation

Organised crime is a priority issue for the Austrian Presidency. Inadequacies in the judicial cooperation
system foster every form of cross-border crime. To speed up and enhance the effectiveness of legal
relations, the Council has adopted a joint action to facilitate direct contacts among authorities. Another
measure intended to serve the same purpose is a proposal currently under discussion to improve judicial
assistance procedures, which, however, fails to address key questions. Further steps are absolutely
essential in order to tighten up judicial assistance and extradition procedures.

Is the Commission drawing up further measures at the present time to speed up and enhance the

1.
effectiveness of judicial cooperation?

2.

Does it know whether steps will be taken in this area in the near future?

Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(29 September 1998)

Fighting against organised crime is not only a priority of the Austrian Presidency, but a pressing necessity
identified by the Community as such. The Amsterdam European Council in June 1997 endorsed an action
plan to combat organised crime (1), which contains numerous measures and initiatives to be taken within a
determined time schedule, in particular with regard to judicial cooperation. The recommendations of the
action plan are under constant monitoring and a first report on their implementation was submitted at the
European Council in Cardiff in June 1998.

Among the measures which were recently adopted, it is worth mentioning the joint action creating a
European judicial network (2), the purpose of which is to enable appropriate direct contacts to be set up
between judicial authorities and other authorities responsible for judicial cooperation and action against
forms of serious crime within Member States, as well as the joint action on good practice in mutual legal
assistance in criminal matters, which provides for concrete practical improvements. The Parliament issued
an opinion on all those drafts.

A number of further instruments are under discussion, including a draft joint action on identification,tra-
cing, freezing or seizing and confiscation of instrumentalities and the proceeds from crime and a draft
convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters (3), which builds on the 1959 European Convention
and its additional Protocol for enhanced assistance between Member States.

Under the Treaty on European Union, the Commission itself is not entitled to draw up proposals in the
field of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. It is however managing the Grotius programme of
incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners (4) which, by developing mutual understanding and
fostering mutual confidence, facilitates assistance and cooperation. Moreover, in the perspective of the
entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, the Commission issued a communication ‘Towards an area of
freedom, security and justice’ (5), in which it set out the issues which in its view should be addressed to
realise that goal. The European Council in Vienna will consider the concrete steps and timetable for
meeting the objectives set up by the new Title IV of the Treaty.

(1) OJ C 251, 15.8.1997.
(2) OJ L 191, 7.7.1998.
(3) OJ L 191, 7.7.1998.
(4) OJ L 287, 8.11.1996.
(5) COM(98) 459 final.