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According to the CJEU, Dutch public prosecutors are not an “executing judicial authority,” as they may be subject to individual instructions from the Dutch Minister of Justice. Therefore, the Dutch public prosecutor was not entitled to consent to an exception to the speciality rule (Art. 27 FD EAW). Herewith, the CJEU clarifies its case law on the requirements of independence, so that prosecution services can be ragarded "judicial authority" within the FD EAW.

On 17 December 2020, the CJEU decided that a court executing an EAW is not entitled to refuse surrender if the issuing state does not fulfil the requirements of Directive 343/2016 on the defendant’s right to be present at trial. The sole yardstick is Art. 4a FD EAW.

EU Member States may not impose a general ban on surrender, despite growing doubts about the independence of the Polish judiciary. The CJEU ruled on 17 December 2020 that the execution of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) may still only be refused if the person concerned runs a real risk of being subjected to an unfair trial.

On 1 December 2020, the Council agreed on conclusions how to meet the current challenges and move forward regarding the European Arrest Warrant and extradition procedures. They set out how the effectiveness of the main instrument of judicial cooperation within the EU on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition could be improved. The conclusions deal with five main topics

In its judgment of 17 December 2020, the CJEU confirmed the case law established in the 2016 Petruhhin judgment. Extradition of EU citizens to third countries can only be established in agreement with the EU Member State of nationality. The CJEU seized, however, the obligations for the requested Member State and the Member State of nationality within the consultation procedure.

At the beginning of December 2020, Eurojust and the EJN published a joint report on the extradition of EU citizens to third countries. The report identifies the main issues arising in practice with the consultation procedure that has been established by the CJEU in its 2016 Petruhhin judgement in cases where an EU Member State is faced with an extradition request from a third country concerning a citizen of another EU Member State.