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Theresa May announces EU opt-out decision Theresa May says UK to keep European Arrest Warrant
(35 minutes later)
The UK is to opt out of all 133 EU law and order measures next year under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, Home Secretary Theresa May has said. The UK wants to remain signed up to the European Arrest Warrant, Home Secretary Theresa May has told MPs.
It will then seek to opt back in to 35 measures "in the national interest", including the European Arrest Warrant and Europol. She said the UK would opt out of all 133 EU law and order measures in the Lisbon Treaty and seek to rejoin 35 of them "in the national interest".
She told MPs the warrant was a useful extradition tool but it needed to be reformed to exclude minor crimes. She rejected calls by Tory MPs to scrap the warrant but said it would be reformed to exclude minor crimes.
It follows months of negotiations between the Conservatives and Lib Dems. Labour said the announcement was "hardly a triumph of repatriation" and accused Mrs May of being soft on crime.
The coalition partners have different views about the UK's role in the European Union, with the Conservatives seeking a renegotiation of the UK's membership and a referendum by 2017, and the more pro-European Liberal Democrats calling for more active engagement on current terms. To shouts of "shame" from Tory benches, Mrs May said Britain would rejoin the European Arrest Warrant, but British law will be amended to "rectify problems and increase protections" for people wanted for extradition.
Conservative MPs say the opt-out decision, which is likely to be subject to a vote in the House of Commons later this month, is a chance to assert the UK's sovereignty but Labour says the government's stance is confused. Coalition views
In a statement to the Commons, Mrs May said: "For reasons of policy, principle and pragmatism, I believe that it is in the national interest to exercise the United Kingdom's opt-out and rejoin a much smaller set of measures which help us to cooperate with our European neighbours in the fight against serious and organised crime.
"I also believe that Her Majesty's government must strike the right balance between supporting law enforcement and protecting our traditional liberties.
"What I have outlined today will achieve both of those goals."
She said the UK would also be seeking to opt back in to pan-EU crime-fighting agency Europol.
The Labour and Lib Dem coalition partners have different views about the UK's role in the European Union, with the Conservatives seeking a renegotiation of the UK's membership and a referendum by 2017, and the more pro-European Liberal Democrats calling for more active engagement on current terms.
Conservative MPs say the opt-out decision, which is likely to be subject to a vote in the House of Commons next week, is a chance to assert the UK's sovereignty, but Labour says the government's stance is confused.
'Defunct''Defunct'
As part of an agreement reached by the last Labour government during negotiations on the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the UK has the right to withdraw from 133 law and order measures next year or retain all of them.As part of an agreement reached by the last Labour government during negotiations on the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the UK has the right to withdraw from 133 law and order measures next year or retain all of them.
Last October, Mrs May indicated that her preferred option was to exercise the opt-out because the UK did not feel bound by rules pre-dating the Lisbon negotiations "some of which are useful, some less so and some which are now entirely defunct".Last October, Mrs May indicated that her preferred option was to exercise the opt-out because the UK did not feel bound by rules pre-dating the Lisbon negotiations "some of which are useful, some less so and some which are now entirely defunct".
The UK will require the agreement of the EU's 26 other members to be able to re-adopt selected measures.The UK will require the agreement of the EU's 26 other members to be able to re-adopt selected measures.
'Proportionality test'
Some Conservative MPs have been critical of the pan-European warrant scheme, introduced in 2004 to speed up the extradition process for convicted offenders and criminal suspects across European borders.Some Conservative MPs have been critical of the pan-European warrant scheme, introduced in 2004 to speed up the extradition process for convicted offenders and criminal suspects across European borders.
They say it is being used for trivial offences and it has led to many more requests for extradition of UK citizens abroad, many of them protracted, than vice versa.They say it is being used for trivial offences and it has led to many more requests for extradition of UK citizens abroad, many of them protracted, than vice versa.
But the Lib Dems say UK participation in the warrant, which was used to detain and extradite from Italy one of those subsequently convicted of involvement in attempted bombings in London in July 2005, makes it easier to bring offenders to justice and Labour says ditching it would be "crazy".But the Lib Dems say UK participation in the warrant, which was used to detain and extradite from Italy one of those subsequently convicted of involvement in attempted bombings in London in July 2005, makes it easier to bring offenders to justice and Labour says ditching it would be "crazy".
The Guardian has suggested the UK will seek the support of like-minded EU states to try and reform the way it works and press for a new "proportionality test" to prevent deportation for minor offences.
Asked about the future of the European Arrest Warrant on Monday, Mrs May said she was aware of its "usefulness" but also the "problems" with it.
Among measures the UK could opt out of, according to media reports, include powers on DNA profiling, fingerprint checking, co-operation on cross-border crimes and new plans for an EU-wide driving ban and an EU-wide public prosecutor.
The European Commission has said it will "assess the consequences" of whatever decision the UK reaches and that existing treaties do "provide the possibility" for the UK to opt back in.