One of the more sinister aspects of EU integration is the way that the existence of a common EU extradition warrant can be used to punish behavior that would not actually be criminal in the country where it took place.

Lets take a look at the case of Gerhard Haderer. He’s an Austrian cartoonist who published a satire on the life of Jesus. Like most satires, it is not very respectful, but it contravenes no Austrian law. Unbeknown to him, however, the book was republished in Greece, a country not known these days for its attachment to freedom. The book was banned, Haderer was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to jail. He’s appealing, but if he loses, he can under EU law be extradited to Greece to serve his time and Austria cannot do anything about it.

That’s bad enough in its own right, but the implications are worse.

What, for example, if a writer posts an article on the internet that is perfectly legal in his country, but contravenes the law elsewhere in another EU state (perhaps one of those ludicrous, but increasingly fashionable and increasingly repressive laws directed against ‘xenophobia’)? If that article is then downloaded in that country, is there a chance that its author could find himself extradited, convicted and silenced?

I think there is.

John Miller, plan your travel, very, very carefully.</p