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<p>The Government and the DPP are in agreement that the European Arrest Warrant (EAW)
offers the best way of keeping Britain safe, particularly from serious criminals and
terrorists.</p><p>The introduction of the EAW has resulted in much faster processing
of extradition requests, meaning that we can secure the return of fugitives wanted
for serious offending in this country often in a matter of weeks, not many months
or even years as was the case under previous arrangements. The Arrest Warrant is also
more effective. For example, under the previous regime, the European Convention on
Extradition, some Member States can refuse to surrender their own nationals, including
France, Germany and Spain, which is not the position in EAW cases. Furthermore, the
EAW overcomes problems of time limitation in other countries. It also means that wanted
people can now be extradited to face fraud and tax charges, which was not the case
before.</p><p>The Government has recently made changes in the way that the EAW is
processed through our courts. These changes are designed to offer greater protection
to UK citizens and other UK residents against disproportionate requests and the risk
of spending unreasonable lengths of time in pre-trial detention abroad. With those
changes in place, the Government is convinced that the EAW provides an effective and
cost-efficient tool in the fight against trans-national crime, and it is one which
prosecutors and other law enforcement professionals are keen to see preserved.</p><p>
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