15 MEPs denounce Spain’s “misuse” of European arrest warrant to EU

Fifteen MEPs from nine different countries of the European Union have denounced before the European Commission (EC) Spain’s “misuse” of European arrest warrant for Catalan leaders. In a written parliamentary question addressed to the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourová, MEPs asked whether the EC “envisages” any mechanism “to avoid an opportunistic use of the European arrest warrant in the future”.

According to the MEPs, Spain has “misused” this legal instrument against Carles Puigdemont and his ministers that are currently in Belgium. “The withdrawal of the European arrest warrant was a tactical movement to avoid a defeat in a Belgian Court,” stressed MEPs. In the letter, they also reminded that several of the charges Puigdemont and his ministers are accused of do not exist in Belgian law. What’s more, they highlighted that the Spanish judiciary “refused to issue a new European arrest warrant” when Puigdemont travelled to Denmark due to “political reasons”.  

The MEP asked the European commissioner for Justice whether the “misuse” of the European arrest warrant can “affect the mutual trust among the judicial systems of the Members States and its effectiveness.” In addition, they asked her whether it should be allowed to issue and withdraw it at will. “Its opportunistic use raises the question if a European arrest warrant should be allowed to be withdrawn or presented at will,” they pointed out.