Agreements between the United States and the European Union on extradition and mutual assistance in legal cases are entering into force after an exchange of instruments of ratification in Washington DC on October 28 2009 between senior US and EU representatives.
 
At the meeting, a "Washington Declaration" on future co-operation in justice and home affairs was adopted.
 
The United States was represented by attorney general Eric Holder and deputy secretary of the department of homeland security Jane Holl Lute.
 
The EU was represented Swedish justice minister Beatrice Ask and minister for migration and asylum policy Tobias Billström – Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU – together with European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot.
 
"The Washington Declaration establishes a common will to deepen co-operation between the US and the EU for strengthened freedom, security and justice," the Swedish EU presidency said in a statement.
 
The declaration is intended to apply to co-operation for the next five years, the same period as that of the Stockholm Programme. http://www.se2009.eu/en/the_presidency/about_the_eu/justice_and_home_affairs/1.1965
 
The declaration contains a wish to simplify travel and trade between the EU and the US. The parties also intend to improve the dialogue on asylum and migration.
 
"The EU and the US intend to continue their co-operation to fight gross cross-border crime, particularly regarding human trafficking and smuggling, the sexual exploitation of children and drugs crime. The parties emphasised the importance of co-operation between each other's law enforcement agencies," the Swedish EU presidency said.
 
The EU and the US are also agreed in their co-operation to respect the rights and private lives of individuals and to strengthen the protection of personal data on each other's citizens, according to the statement.
 
"We are establishing a joint ambition to continue our co-operation to fight gross international crime. That's important. But equally important is that we are agreed on strengthening the protection of the rights of the individual. For the EU, this has been the most important issue in the negotiations," Ask said.
 
"It is important that the EU and the US continue with their co-operation and intensify it with regard to migration issues, particularly when it comes to the exchange of knowledge and information. The Declaration will provide good conditions for this," Billström said.
 
Holder said that the treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance "represent a great achievement, both for their practical benefits and what they symbolise".
 
"They give us important new tools to combat crime, including terrorism," he said.
 
These tools, according to Holder, were that the extradition agreement would modernise the existing bilateral  extradition treaties with each of the EU member states, in many cases replacing lists of offences that are deemed extraditable with a dual criminality standard; while the mutual legal assistance agreement contains "cutting edge provisions" for future legal co-operation. 
 
These include authority to identify the existence of bank accounts associated with the subjects in the other's jurisdiction in terrorism and other serious crimes; to conduct joint task forces across national lines directed against  terrorism and serious crime cases rather than merely "co-ordinating" inquiries; to obtain assistance in administrative matters that may lead to criminal investigations in matters involving terrorism and serious crimes; to acquire evidence, including testimony, by means of video conferencing; and to use data acquired via the agreement for additional serious offences other than just the one triggering the initial request.
 
 
Holder said that the US was profoundly grateful that "strong co-operation from our international partners has helped us reduce violent crime and prevent another major terrorist attack on American soil".
 
"Our common values and our mutual interest in protecting our citizens strengthen our resolve to deepen our co-operation with Europe. We look forward to implementing these important instruments in a spirit of mutual respect and co-operation," Holder said.
 
A US justice department statement said that the agreements on extradition and mutual legal assistance were negotiated in the aftermath of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks in the US  as a means to improve the co-operation in criminal matters between the US and EU member states and supplement existing bilateral agreements.