The European Commission launched legal action on Thursday against France, Malta, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovakia for failing to completely implement the EU’s European Arrest Warrant statute, which has been in effect since the beginning of 2004.

The European Arrest Warrant is a streamlined cross-border judicial procedure that allows a person to be apprehended for the purpose of prosecution or the execution of a prison sentence or detention order.

It is valid throughout the EU and has replaced the cumbersome extradition procedures that previously existed between EU nations.

The five countries now have two months to clarify how they plan to fully transpose the European Arrest Warrant into national laws or face being sued in the EU’s top court.