Croatia Backs Down in Row with EU over Arrest Warrant
Croatia vowed Wednesday to bring its extradition and arrest rules speedily in line with EU law following a row that saw the bloc's newest member face sanctions barely after joining.
"We will swiftly take all measures to make the law in compliance with European law," Croatian Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic said at a brief news conference held with the European Union's justice commissioner Viviane Reding.
Croatia risks EU sanctions and funding cuts for the controversial amendment of its law on the use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), just three days before officially becoming the EU's 28th member on July 1.
The EAW regulates extradition between member states, and Zagreb's decision to apply it only to crimes committed after August 2002 -- the date the EAW was originally introduced -- has left it sharply at odds with its new partners, notably Germany.
Miljenic pledged the legislative change would take effect "at the latest" on January 1, and Reding welcomed the step while saying the EU would monitor events to decide whether or not to lift the threat of punitive sanctions, including the suspension of 80 million euros of funding.
Brussels has said Zagreb's 2002 deadline is contrary to the bloc's laws and must be changed.
The main opposition conservative HDZ party has accused Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's center-left government of amending the law to prevent the extradition of a former intelligence official to Germany.
Josip Perkovic, a former Yugoslav secret service agent and ex-head of Croatia's intelligence services after its independence in 1991, is sought for involvement in the 1983 murder of a Croatian dissident in Germany.
Local media has speculated that Zagreb is reluctant to extradite him as he may hold confidential and compromising information on influential people within Croatian politics and society.
The government vehemently denies any links between the case -- in Croatia dubbed Lex Perkovic -- and the amendment to the law, claiming its intention was to protect veterans of the 1990s independence war from being investigated by the EU.
Source: Agence France Presse
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