Full speed towards Stockholm

18 September 2009

The European Commission has no direct powers over criminal law and policing, though that is no block to the flood of proposals, so far mainly aimed at getting member states to coordinate on organised crime and terrorism. But with its latest plans, the Commission may have over-reached itself, writes Stephen Gardner. Under what is known as the Stockholm Programme – to which EU leaders will sign up in December if Brussels gets its way – the Commission proposes extensive tinkering with the criminal law systems in member states, including alignment of penalties, and even agreement on common offences (all to be overseen by the European Commission, of course). Britain for one is having none of it. A late-August government briefing turns down the Commission flat on its plans for "alignment of substantive criminal law." Like many member states, Britain is also concerned about duplication and lack of coherence, having learned from the experience of the European Arrest Warrant, which has clogged up the courts with extradition requests for trivial offences (piglet theft in Lithuania, in one celebrated case). But this is unlikely to stop the Commission pushing ahead in the longer run. The Lisbon Treaty will give the Commission more direct power over justice and policing. In principle the UK has the right to opt-out from these measures, but things might not be so clear-cut. As the Stockholm Programme emphasises, the Commission has already, without the Lisbon Treaty, won European Court of Justice cases requiring EU countries to introduce common criminal offences in some areas. Lisbon might give the Commission a handy short-cut for future measures, but if not, there are other ways to achieve "more Europe."

 

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