6 About the European Arrest Warrant The EAW is the EU's flagship crime fighting instrument. It was enacted in 2002 through an EU Framework Decision in the wake of the 9/11 attacks amid concerns that existing extradition laws were too cumbersome to effectively tackle serious cross-border crimes. Since 2004, the EAW has been used to surrender: • a terrorist involved in Paris attacks caught in Belgium • an attacker of the Brussels Jewish Museum arrested in France • a failed London bomber caught in Italy • a German serial killer tracked down in Spain • a suspected drug smuggler from Malta surrendered by the UK • a gang of armed robbers sought by Italy whose members were arrested in 6 different EU countries Putting human rights at the heart of the EAW Facts and figures about the European Arrest Warrant Since the EAW system came into force in 2004, the number of EAWs issued has increased significantly. However, while the average person is extradited speedily, the gap between the number of requests for extradition made (i.e. EAW issued) and the number of people extradited (i.e. EAWs executed) remains vast. This is caused in part because of concerns within certain EU Member States, particularly those that regularly receive requests, that the EAW has been inappropriately issued or that execution will result in human rights violations. In 2015, on average the wanted person was surrendered: With consent – in 14 days (about 50% of all surrenders) Source: European Commission An EAW is issued by a judge or prosecutor in one EU Member State (the “issuing Member State”) to seek the arrest and surrender of a person present in another (the “executing Member State”) to stand trial or serve a sentence. It may be issued for a person: • Who is accused of a serious crime, such as murder, terrorism, or human trafficking, or has been sentenced to a custodial sentence of at least three years for one of these crimes; or • Who is accused of an offence for which the maximum penalty is at least 1 year of prison or has been sentenced to a prison term of at least 4 months, so long as the offense exists in both countries. The European Commission has advised Member States that an assessment of the “proportionality” of using an EAW must be conducted before issuing it, checking whether using the EAW is truly necessary and that there are no other less harmful options that could be used instead. Once issued, there are very limited grounds, mostly purely procedural, on which the country receiving the EAW may refuse to execute it (i.e. extradite the person). As such, the EAW is designed to be highly efficient. Without consent – in less than 2 months Source: European Commission The use of the EAW has increased significantly since 2004 15.827 14.910 14.948 13.891 13.142 10.883 9.784 16.144 ISSUED 10.665 6.894 6.889 4.431 3.078 836 1.223 2006 5.535 4.293 3.153 3.652 2.221 2008 Source: European Commission 2010 2012 3.467 5.304 EXECUTED 2014