Press Releases

Chindamo case reveals fundamental problems with EU harmonisation of justice and home affairs

21 August 2007

Open Europe today warned that the case of Learco Chindamo, who cannot be deported under EU law, highlights fundamental problems with the EU’s attempt to harmonise justice and home affairs law.

Open Europe Director Neil O’Brien said:

“This ruling is the thin end of a very long wedge. Harmonisation of justice and home affairs laws will throw up more and more cases in which politicians are powerless to act in cases where most of the public expect them to.”

“The Government tend to dismiss concerns about harmonisation of justice and home affairs law as ‘scaremongering’. But the reality is that there really is a tension between the development of EU criminal law and the public’s desire for accountability in this area. While majority voting and harmonisation might be appropriate for product standards in the single market, they are inappropriate in home affairs and criminal law.”

“The Government appears to be in denial about what they have signed up to. The next phase of harmonisation under the constitutional treaty would take justice and policing further out of the control of ordinary voters. It would mean more power for EU judges who cannot be held accountable to anyone.”

EU law

In the case of Learco Chindamo the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal referred to the 2004 Free Movement Directive (Directive 2004/38/EC) which was passed into UK law last year as Statutory Instrument 2006/1003.

It states that “A relevant decision [to deport] may not be taken except on imperative grounds of public security in respect of an EEA national who has resided in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of at least ten years prior to the relevant decision.”

A full briefing on the Free Movement Directive is available on the Open Europe website:

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/freemovement.pdf

The text of the Directive is available on the EU website: http://tinyurl.com/3bjlez

Future development

The 2005 Hague Programme sets out the Union’s work programme in justice and home affairs for the years running up to 2010.

The next phase of justice and home affairs legislation will involve a number of controversial issues. As the EU agenda develops it is moving from minimum rules towards greater harmonisation, and covering more substantive issues in each area:

The proposed Framework Decision on Procedural Rights in Criminal Proceedings would set out and harmonise the rights of criminal suspects. It proposes that people who are arrested should be given an A4 sheet listing their EU rights on it.

The proposed European Supervision Order, creating an EU right to bail, could potentially lead to problems with suspects fleeing to another country.

The second phase of work on the Common Immigration System and Common Asylum System would involve moving from minimum standards to common rules and common processing.

Several of the rights set out in the constitutional treaty are also controversial. For example, the prohibition of double jeopardy would have made it impossible to convict the killers of Damilola Taylor.

A briefing on the new constitutional treaty, including its justice and home affairs provisions, is available at

http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/guide.pdf

Notes for Editors

1. For more information please call Neil O’Brien on 0207 197 2333

2. On the Today Programme this morning Jack Straw said that "it is very probable that most of this issue arises not from the Human Rights Act but from European Union law.” The Home Office has said it will appeal the decision