Raad akkoord met richtlijn voor eenduidige Europese regels bewijsverzameling in criminele strafzaken (en)

The Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER II) on December 3 in Brussels confirmed the compromise text of the Initiative for a Directive on the European Investigation Order in Criminal Matters. This allows reaching a first reading agreement with the European  iParliament on the Directive, after the formal voting in the European Parliament and later in the Council.

“I believe that the European Investigation Order, which is based on mutual recognition principle, the cornerstone of judicial cooperation, would contribute to simplifying and facilitating the evidence gathering procedures in criminal matters,” said chair of the Permanent Representatives Committee ambassador Raimundas Karoblis.

The goal of the Directive is to set up a unified comprehensive system for obtaining evidence in criminal cases with a cross-border dimension. This aim was established in the Stockholm Programme, which set the guidelines for the EU cooperation in the area of freedom, security and justice in 2010-2014.

The initiative for this Directive was put forward in April 2010 by a group of seven Member States. The Council reached the agreement in December 2011 and the European Parliament voted in May 2012. The negotiations between the Council, the Parliament and the European Commission were concluded in November 2013, producing the compromise text. After its confirmation by the Permanent Representatives Committee, the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is to vote on the text on December 5, 2013.