The European Commission has warned Croatia that it risks sanctions unless it drops a controversial law that exempts crimes allegedly committed before 2002 from the European Arrest Warrant.

Croatia’s centre-left government ignored a Friday deadline (23 August) for submitting a schedule for changing the law.

“The European Commission deeply regrets that Croatia has not responded to our urgent call with regard to the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant,” a spokeswoman for Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, said in Brussels today (26 August).

“This is not a minor issue for us. This infringement of EU law goes to the very heart of European judicial co-operation,” she said.

Three days before Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July, Croatia’s parliament adopted amendments limiting the application of the European Arrest Warrant. Many observers believe that this was done to protect a former intelligence official who is wanted in Germany for his alleged involvement in the assassination in 1983 of a Yugoslav defector, although the government denies this.

Reding had written to the Croatian government late in July to demand that it scrap the exemption or risk the suspension of European Union funding. Reding also suggested that Croatia’s membership in the EU’s Schengen area of border-free travel could be delayed.

Reding’s spokeswoman said that Reding would raise the matter at the next regular meeting of the college of European commissioners, on 4 September. “This is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed by the entire college in view of taking a decision,” she said.

She described the adoption of the amendments as a “breach of trust”.