EU Citizenship and European Arrest Warrant: The Same Rights for All?

• Author: Tony Marguery
• Position: Assistant professor European Union Law, Europa Institute, Utrecht University
• Pages: 84-91

EU Citizenship and European Arrest Warrant: e Same Rights

for All?

Case C-123/08, Dominic Wolzenburg, Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) of 6

October 2009 [2009] ECR I-9621

Tony Marguery

Merkourios - International and European Environmental Law - Vol. 28/73 84

Merkourios 2011 – Volume 27/Issue 73, Case Note, pp. 84-91.

URN: NBN:NL:UI: 10-1-100935

ISSN: 0927-460X

URL: www.merkourios.org

Publisher: Igitur, Utrecht Publishing & Archiving Services

Copyright: this work has been licensed by the Creative Commons Attribution License (3.0)

Keywords

European citizenship, area of freedom, security and justice, European arrest warrant, principle of non-discrimination, assess-

ment of proportionality.

Abstract

In the case Wolzenburg, the principle of non-discrimination of European Union citizens is applied to the European arrest

warrant. e implementation of the European arrest warrant by the Member States cannot escape a control of proportional-

ity made by the Court. Member States may impose a period of residence of ve years to foreign Europeans citizens in order

for them to rely on an optional ground for non-execution of a European arrest warrant (Article 4(6) of the Framework Deci-

sion on the European arrest warrant). Home nationals are not obliged to comply with a residence requirement. It is possible

for Member States to justify an exception to the principle of non-discrimination of European citizens with a legitimate inter-

est. e chances of social reintegration of a person convicted constitute such an interest. e national measure resulting in a

dierence of treatment must be proportional to that interest.

Author aliations

Assistant professor European Union Law, Europa Institute, Utrecht University.

Case Note

Case Note