European Union justice ministers have failed to agree on the creation of an EU-wide arrest warrant after Italy refused to lift its objections.
The ministers had earlier agreed on a legal definition of terrorism, which had been considered the major stumbling block to a pan-EU warrant.
Belgium, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, had proposed that the warrant should cover 32 crimes ranging from terrorism and hijacking to fraud and corruption.
But Italy insisted it apply to just six crimes including terrorism and sexual abuse of children but not, for example, fraud and corruption.
EU justice ministers had been rushing to meet a December deadline for approving the warrant, part of Europe's drive to combat terrorism and show solidarity with the US after the September 11th. AFP