Statewatch: EU to restrict the free movement of offenders

from email, 1 December 2008:

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL, Brussels, 27 November:

Restriction on the EU freedom of movement of citizens who have been convicted of serious crime or for "repeated offences" (which may be "low level")

Ministers are discussing the adoption of Council Conclusions: Free movement of persons: abuses and substantive problems – Draft Council conclusions on abuses and misuses of the right to free movement of persons (16151/1/08, 26 November 2008, PDF).

These say that: "Only those exercising their rights in the spirit of the Treaty should benefit from freedom of movement." While referring to third country nationals the proposals would apply to EU citizens as well and allow Member States to deny entry to those who:

"break the law in a sufficiently serious manner by committing serious and repeated offences"

The scope of "repeated offences" is undefined and could apply, for example, to protestors who take part in cross-border demonstrations.

These Conclusions are based on a proposal put forward by the UK: Statewatch Analysis: The UK proposals on EU free movement law: an attack on the rule of law and EU fundamental freedoms by Professor Steve Peers - University of Essex (PDF).

The draft conclusions constitute an attack on the rule of law and the fundamental freedom of EU citizens and their family members to move freely within the Community. They indicate an intention to:

- ignore a recent important ruling of the Court of Justice as well as many prior rulings of the Court;
- attempt to dictate to the Court how to interpret EC legislation;
- amend or re-interpret EC legislation at the dictat of interior ministries, without applying any form of legislative process; and
- dictate to the Commission how to perform its independent task as guardian of EC law.

The UK proposal includes considering: "the cumulative damage caused by continuous low-level offending can amount to a sufficiently serious threat to public policy"

United Kingdom delegation: Free movement of persons: abuses and substantive problems - Draft Council Conclusions (EU doc no: 15903/08. 18 November 2008, PDF).

Contact:

Statewatch: Monitoring the state and civil liberties in Europe
PO Box 1516, London, N16 0EW. UK
tel: +44(0)20-8802-1882; fax: +44(0)20-8880-1727
http://www.statewatch.org

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