he European Commission is pushing for a big increase in powers over crime, policing and the treatment of criminals.

The President of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso has told the BBC that this is not a power grab but an attempt to make Europe a safer place.

The plan announced at a news conference in Brussels would give the Court of Justice and the European Parliament a say on policing and would mean getting rid of countries' automatic right to veto plans they don't like.

The Commission says this would speed up decision-making, which it says at the moment is "slow and cumbersome".


Prisoners' rights

Although the idea is one of those contained in the European constitution, which was rejected last year by France and the Netherlands, the EU's 25 can countries can agree to give up the veto without without a new treaty.

However, this is not going to happen without internal opposition and several rows.

The Commission says progress has been too slow on:
 

A specific example the Commission gives is the right of prisoners to an interpreter, which is currently not allowed in some countries.

Others would argue for a common age of criminal responsibility, which varies across the EU from seven in Ireland to 16 in Portugal.


Move welcomed

The Commission also argues that giving the European Court of Justice a big new role would force governments to implement agreed legislation.

They say that at the moment laws against child pornography simply have not been acted on by member states.

Commission sources have told the BBC that Britain's treatment of foreign terror suspects would come under scrutiny.

But President Barroso told the BBC: "It's not in our proposal now. It's a complex issue and one that we are looking at. We want something that is compatible with the rule of law but it would be difficult to harmonise at this stage."

The British Government says it has "an open mind" about giving up the veto, and senior sources say that Mr Blair has no objection.

But there is a debate within the British government about whether it will provoke too much opposition at a politically difficult time.

Some have welcomed the move.

Stephen Jakobi of Fair trials Abroad said: "We welcome the initiative. At the moment a proposal to give all European basic rights such as a competent lawyer has been emasculated by European governments."


German opposition

But Open Europe's Neil O'Brien said there should be no question of countries outvoting each other on issues as important as crime, police and the courts.

"The government is currently blocking plans to draw up an EU list of criminal suspects' rights, but if we give up the veto we could be outvoted and forced to accept it," he said.

"If the government are serious about cracking down on crime, the last thing we need is to have unelected EU judges getting in the way."

Within the EU, the most serious opposition comes from the Germans.

They do not want to been seen "cherry picking" the constitution, which they believe should be brought back as a whole. Also, the federal government cannot give away powers that belong to the regions.

But the Finns who are taking over the Presidency on 1 July are enthusiastic about the plan, as are the French, who say they first proposed it.