Britain to opt out of most EU justice measures
Photo © Volker Hammermeister - Fotolia
(LONDON) - Britain announced on Tuesday it would opt out of all EU measures on policing and criminal justice, but will seek to rejoin some including the controversial European arrest warrant scheme.
Many of the measures are unpopular with Prime Minister David Cameron's eurosceptic Conservative party, which is pushing to renegotiate Britain's broader membership of the EU before holding a referendum.
The European Union said it respected Britain's decision and welcomed the move to opt back into to some measures.
Under the Lisbon treaty, Britain must decide by May 2014 whether to accept or ditch all the justice and home affairs measures agreed before 2009. But it can then rejoin them on an individual basis.
Interior minister Theresa May said in a statement to parliament that for "reasons of policy, principle and pragmatism" Britain would opt out of all 133 measures before rejoining 35 of them.
To cries of "Shame!" from her Conservative colleagues, May said Britain would rejoin the arrest warrant system, saying it was a "valuable tool in returning offenders to the UK".
But she added that British law would be changed to stop the system being used to extradite British nationals for relatively minor offences, only for them to be held for long periods abroad awaiting trial.
May also proposed that Britain should rejoin the EU's policing agency Europol, provided certain changes are made to ensure its work does not conflict with national security priorities.
"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 co-operate with our European neighbours in the fight against serious and organised crime," she said.
"I also believe that Her Majesty's government must strike the right balance between supporting law enforcement and protecting our traditional liberties."
The proposals will be put to a debate and a vote in parliament next week.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, whose role covers the bloc's criminal justice measures, said she was glad Britain wanted to opt back into 35 of them.
"Note UK optout. Welcome intention to opt back into some measures. Hope UK will keep contributing to EU fight against crime and terrorism," she said on Twitter.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation bloc, also gave them a cautious welcome.
"The Commission respects the UK Government's choice to opt out, which is in line with the Treaty, and welcomes the UK intention to also opt back into certain measures," a spokesman said.
"At first sight, it appears that the UK has looked at the opt-ins in a pragmatic way."
Under pressure from his party's right flank and the rival UK Independence Party (UKIP), Cameron promised in January to negotiate better terms for Britain with the EU and then hold a referendum after the next election in 2015.
Conservative-backed legislation guaranteeing a referendum by 2017 cleared its first parliamentary hurdle on Friday, although the vote was largely symbolic as there is little chance of it becoming law.
A new YouGov poll on Tuesday found 43 percent of Britons would vote to leave the EU and 36 percent would vote to stay.
If Cameron renegotiated Britain's relationship with the bloc, 31 percent would still want to leave but 48 percent would vote to stay, the poll suggested.
Eurosceptic Tories were given fresh cause for outrage on Tuesday when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain was violating prisoners' human rights by sentencing them to life in prison with no possible review.