Accord with EU crime fighter body approved

Parliament has approved an agreement on cooperation between the Swiss justice authorities and the European Union.

Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said in parliament on Wednesday that the accord would improve cooperation by formalising it and creating legal certainty.

The EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit – or Eurojust – was set up in 2002 “to improve the fight against serious crime by facilitating the optimal co-ordination of action for investigations and prosecutions covering the territory of more than one Member State”.

The rightwing Swiss People’s Party opposed the move to step up efforts to work together, saying it doubted the efficiency of Eurojust and feared an uncontrolled increase in the exchange of information.

However, a majority of parliamentarians agreed that Eurojust was an important instrument to fight terrorism, human and drugs trafficking, fraud and money laundering.