Despite being widely debated, the Council and Parliament differed on several core issues. These included the exclusion of certain 'minor offences' from the scope of the directive; derogations from the rights granted under the directive and the conditions that would apply; the principle of confidentiality between the accused and their lawyer; the legal remedies available to suspects deprived of their rights; and the link between this directive and the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The overall agreement reached during negotiations is clearly a compromise.
At the insistence of the S&D shadow rapporteur, the principle of confidentiality was successfully included in the directive without derogations. The S&Ds also established clear rules on the use of derogations so that they will be proportionate, strictly time-limited, not based solely on the seriousness of the alleged offence and will not prejudice the overall fairness of the proceedings.