McDowell unhappy with EU plan for suspects

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell is opposed to proposed EU safeguards for criminal suspects extradited between members States, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The head of Amnesty's EU office, Susie Alegre, told a conference in Dublin that Mr McDowell, the head of the EU Justice Council, saw the safeguards as a "thin edge of a wedge" in terms of EU interference in national criminal systems.

"He is not currently happy about the proposal. I understand the problem is one of national sovereignty and that the question of procedural rules should be left to member States," she said.