Lords to question EU Commission and Eurojust

In the first session, at 10.10am, the Committee will speak to Michèle Coninsx, President of Eurojust. The Committee will question Ms Coninsx on the EAW, and seek answers in particular on:

• whether the principle of mutual recognition, on which EAWs rely, is fundamentally flawed due to a gulf in standards of justice across the EU;
• any criticisms that are levelled at the UK's use of the EAW;
• suggestions that the EAW is being used incorrectly by some Member States (using it as a first option rather than as a last resort as originally intended); and
• the implications of the UK opting back into the EAW without participating into the rights of the individual in criminal proceedings.

At 10.55am, the Committee will hear from Olivier Tell, Head of the Procedural Criminal Law Unit, Directorate General Justice of the European Commission. The Committee will question Mr Tell on aspects of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) system, including:

• the Commission's view on the appropriateness of re-opening consideration of amendments to the Framework Directive;
• the Commission's appetite for enacting recommendations made in Baroness Ludford's report about the EAW;
• how the Commission's work on the procedural roadmap has addressed the alleged disparity between the rights of the individual and the rights of the State; and
• whether the Commission is confident that the UK has enacted the EAW in line with European law.

Both evidence sessions will take place via videolink on Wednesday 10 December, from 10.10am in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.

The sessions will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and are also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.