the committee calls for the council to continue work in introducing common european procedural rights in criminal matters
an existing common procedure in the form of the european arrest warrant has removed the centuries-old safeguards against unjust arrest and imprisonment that the english used to enjoy
this is not an academic argument
the eaw is destroying innocent people's lives
my constituent andrew symeou is just one of a growing number of people extradited without an english court having the power to consider the prima facie evidence against them and to prevent unjust extradition
extradition has now been reduced to a mere bureaucratic formality
mr symeou has been held for six months in the notorious korydallos prison without bail or prospect of trial
the political cynicism of the british liberal democrats is truly breathtaking
they now cry crocodile tears in london over mr symeou's fate despite having been materially responsible for the common procedures that caused it and while here they work for more of the same legislation
the common procedures are about lowering european legal standards and not raising them
let me make a suggestion
if you want higher standards in european criminal proceedings then adopt habeas corpus trial by jury and the main provisions of the magna carta and the bill of rights sixteen eighty-nine as the common european standards
