Luxembourg, France Facilitate Cross-Border Prosecution

Luxembourg and France have signed an agreement authorising cross-border prosecution without territorial limitation.

On Monday 11 July 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Internal Security, Henri Kox, and France's Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories, Gérald Darmanin, formalised the abolition of the limit of ten kilometres beyond which, until this date, the law enforcement agencies of one of the two countries were not allowed to pursue a suspect in the territory of the other country under the regime of in flagrante delicto.

Article 41 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 established this cross-border prosecution mechanism for certain serious crimes, leaving states with the possibility of choosing between different methods of implementing them. Luxembourg and France had established a limit of ten kilometres for the exercise of this option.

In order to better fight cross-border crime, Luxembourg and France have now decided to lift this constraint. This deepening of police cooperation is expected to have a concrete impact on the ground for the safety of residents of both countries. Following on from the progress made on this subject at European level during the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, it testifies to the shared desire of Luxembourg and France to strengthen the internal security of the Schengen area.

It is recalled that the law enforcement authorities carrying out such pursuits must inform the authorities of the partner country, at the latest when crossing the border, and cooperate with them for any possible arrest.