EUobserver.com

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has dropped its plan to table a piece of legislation granting more powers to the EU's judicial body, Eurojust, after being wrong-footed by a group of 14 member states.

Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands have come together to table their own proposal - seen as a move to put a lid on anything too ambitious by the commission.

Under the proposal, all national members would enjoy a minimum four-year-long, renewable mandate as well as a minimum set of powers, including the possibility to "undertake an investigation or prosecution of specific acts" and to "set up a joint investigation team".

In addition, they would have "full access" to a number of national databases such as registers on national criminal records and on arrested persons, investigation registers and DNA registers.

European public prosecutor
But the proposal does not mention a European public prosecutor although one EU diplomat suggested the arrangements are seen by some as "interim" or a stepping stone to a single prosecution office.

A public prosecutor remains a highly controversial issue, as any such move at the EU level would require harmonising the definitions of crimes or introducing a European criminal code.

By tabling an own initiative, the group of 14 have stolen a march on the commission, which was also set to put forward a concrete legislative proposal to boost Eurojust powers this year.

It will no longer make a legislative proposal, a spokesperson told EUobserver, as "the planning has been overtaken by the submission of the present initiative."

He added, however, that the commission backs the ideas as they take into account the commission views "to a large extent."

Under current EU rules, member states are allowed to bypass the Brussels' executive in most justice and home affairs matters, as these fall under their exclusive competence.

But they are to lose this power next year with the coming into force of the EU's latest treaty. This new document will give the European Parliament a strong say in this highly sensitive area.

If all goes to plan, the proposal should be adopted in July.

The new rules are expected to make the Hague-based body more flexible and effective when helping member states to deal with cross-border crime.

Currently, its team is highly dependent on the capitals' goodwill to cooperate and the list of responsibilities they allow their representatives in Eurojust.

Fresh statistics show that the number of cross-border incidents reported to Eurojust has been gradually rising since the legal structure was set up five years ago.

In 2007, Eurojust handled 1,085 cases linked to 49 different types of crime - something that amounts to a 41 percent increase compared to 2006 (771 cases).

Crime against property or public goods (457), drug trafficking (207) as well as swindling and fraud (178) top the crimes chart.

The UK made the biggest use of the Hague-based network of judges and prosecutors, asking for its assistance in 104 cases. Germany used it 83 times, France 77 and the Czech Republic 76.

EU states muscle in on bloc's judicial body