Two-Step Test Master of None

Within the recurring use of the two-step test in EU criminal judicial cooperation (and possibly soon in its civil counterpart), AG Richard de la Tour’s Opinion, delivered on 22 January 2026, suggests a new role for the test: ensuring that the execution of a EAW safeguards the proportionality principle under Article 49(3) CFR. While this development strengthens exceptions to mutual trust, it also exposes the test’s limits in addressing proportionality breaches, revealing an uneven protection of fundamental rights.