Croatia to Amend Disputed Law on European Arrest Warrant

The Croatian government on Thursday moved to comply with the European Union's extradition and arrest rules, ending a row that saw the bloc's newest member face possible sanctions barely after joining.

"We have reached a compromise solution," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told a cabinet session.

The government gave parliament amendments to the law on the use of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to annul a previous limitation that it would only apply to crimes committed after August 2002 -- the date the EAW was originally introduced.

Once it is backed by the parliament, where the government has a strong majority, the amended law will take effect on January 1, 2014.

Zagreb's original decision to change the law on the EAW, which regulates extradition between EU member states, was taken just three days before joining the bloc, leaving it sharply at odds with its new partners, notably Germany.

Brussels had threatened sanctions against Zagreb, including the suspension of 80 million euros of funding, unless it changed the date clause.

The main opposition conservative HDZ party has accused Milanovic's center-left government of amending the law to prevent the extradition of a former intelligence official to Germany.

Josip Perkovic, a former Yugoslav secret service agent and ex-head of Croatia's intelligence services after its independence in 1991, is sought for involvement in the 1983 murder of a Croatian dissident in Germany.

Local media have speculated that Zagreb is reluctant to extradite him as he may hold confidential and compromising information on influential people within Croatian politics and society.

The government vehemently denied any links between the case and the amended law, claiming its intention was to protect veterans of the 1990s independence war from being investigated by the EU.

"No other country in the EU has such a problem. This can be abused by ill-intentioned people who don't live in Croatia. It is a reality and we have to be aware of it," Milanovic said Thursday.