Criminal judicial cooperation: procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout European Union

The Council held a public debate on a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on certain procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union. In the light of the debate, the Presidency concluded that the Council was not able to reach a consensus on this file.

It should be noted that at its meeting on 19 April 2007, the Council concluded that work should be pursued in order to reach a consensus on the scope of the instrument at the Council meeting in June. The dividing line was the question whether the Union was competent to legislate on purely domestic proceedings (at least 21 Member States share this view) or whether the legislation should be devoted solely to cross-border cases.