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Lisbon Treaty (No.1)

I began to explain the opportunities that the treaty will give us to work more effectively in an EU of 27 to deliver further protection on a range of issues. I had mentioned the European arrest warrant, and I was about to give the example of the case of Hussain Osman, one of those suspected of the attempted bombings of 21 July 2005. He fled to Italy, but we were able to secure his rapid return, 56 days after the EAW was issued. He has since been convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Without the European arrest warrant, we would still have to face the fact that some member states refused to extradite their own nationals. Without it, extraditing criminals and terrorists from other member states would still be a lengthy, complex and expensive process.