Italy has lifted its veto on an ambitious EU-wide arrest warrant and will accept a proposal already agreed by its 14 European Union partners, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said today.
The announcement, following talks with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, represented a dramatic climbdown by the Italian government, which had strongly objected to the plan saying it would jeopardise national sovereignty.
"Italy accepts the European arrest warrant as defined at a meeting of justice and interior ministers on December 6th," Mr Berlusconi said, reading from a statement.
Italy's EU partners agreed last week to introduce a fast track arrest-warrant list of 32 crimes ranging from terrorism to fraud and from paedophilia to racism, which is aimed at cutting through extradition bureaucracy within the 15-nation block.
"I'm very happy that Italy along with the rest of the other EU members has accepted the arrest warrant as presented and defined by the ministers," Mr Verhofstadt said.