Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-27-Speech-3-005"
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"en.19991027.1.3-005"2
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"Madam President, Members of the European Parliament, I am very happy to be able to appear before you and speak for the first time in the European Parliament as Finland’s Prime Minister. I wish to congratulate you on your election and wish the new Parliament every success in its work. When we met recently, the President and I pointed out that we have a new Parliament, a new Commission, a new start and, above all, a new President, meaning that the new institutional arrangement is now, on the whole, a better one.
Important decisions were taken concerning the control of mass immigration. It was decided to take measures to combat illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings. There will be tougher penalties for those engaged in human trafficking and other forms of financial exploitation of immigrants, and the Member States will work in closer cooperation with Europol to counter the work of crime networks. I would like to stress here that, at the same time, we must safeguard the rights of the victims of crime and, in particular, the position of women and children. Border control cooperation, both among the Member States and in cooperation with the applicant countries, will improve through, inter alia, exchange programmes and the transfer of technology. In this connection, the importance of the Schengen Convention and the professional control of the external borders are being emphasised in an expanding Union.
It was also agreed at Tampere to embark on practical action that would allow us to build a European area of justice. We decided to create an on-going information system that would be up-to-date and easy to use, enabling the public to obtain information about other Member States’ legal systems. The Union is to adopt, on the basis of the Commission’s proposal, minimum standards, thereby ensuring there is proper legal aid available in cross-border situations. We similarly decided to simplify and speed up legal proceedings relating to consumer, commercial and maintenance demands of slight monetary value. The position of the victims of crime will improve with the adoption of minimum standards for the protection of the victims of crime, especially with regard to legal protection and the right to receive damages.
After a thorough debate on the issue, the Council of Europe approved the mutual recognition of sentences and judicial decisions as a keystone in the development of an area of justice. I consider it an excellent achievement that the principle of mutual recognition was endorsed as a basis for both private law and criminal cases.
An important milestone at Tampere was reached when it was decided to continue with the convergence of civil law and civil process law, for better cooperation and legal protection.
At Tampere, joint action to make the prevention of crime more effective within the Union was thoroughly discussed. The European Council was unanimous in its verdict that persons and organisations that abuse freedoms and violate citizens’ rights within the territory of the Union have to be brought under better control and be held responsible for their deeds, through closer cooperation between the authorities. It was agreed that the key to fighting crime was better prevention of crime. The Member States will draft national crime prevention programmes and establish their mutual cooperation and a comparison of best practice. The European Council called for a study into the possibility of financing a programme from Community funds, the primary focus of which would be youth, urban and drugs-related crime, which have been found to be the fastest growing areas of crime in many countries.
The decisions taken at Tampere will enhance cooperation in Europe between the police and the judicial authorities. The European Council decided that joint investigative groups should be set up to counter, initially, trafficking in drugs and humans, as well as terrorism. A top-level European taskforce would exchange experiences and aid the planning of operations together with Europol. Europol should also be given powers to request Member States to commence, perform and coordinate investigations.
Action to combat organised crime will also be reinforced with the establishment of a new body – Eurojust. Member States, depending on their legal systems, will send state prosecutors, examining magistrates and police officers with similar powers to join this unit. In this way we can see to it that Europol’s criminal investigations lead to criminals being convicted and sentenced more effectively. A European police academy will be established to train higher-ranking legal officials. This will also be open to officials from states applying for membership.
The European Council also decided to embark on a programme of legislative convergence in certain areas of national criminal law. The purpose is to agree common definitions of crimes, and agree on prosecution and legal consequences. This work will initially focus on certain forms of serious cross-border crime such as fraud, trafficking in drugs and human beings – especially the exploitation of women – the sexual abuse of children, high technology crime and environmental crime.
Finally, the last milestone I have to mention, which I regard as being very important among the decisions taken at Tampere is special action to combat money laundering. The importance of this action is underlined by the fact that money laundering has a major role to play in organised crime, and it is closely connected with areas such as trafficking in drugs and human beings, and the illegal trade in weapons. I especially want to raise the point that the legal authorities and centres of investigation into money-laundering will be given the right to acquire information, regardless of bank regulations or business secrecy rules, when the information is necessary to conduct an investigation into money laundering. Europol’s powers will be extended to money laundering in general, regardless of what type of crime the laundered funds derive from. Member States will try to reach a coherent and comprehensive definition of the scope of criminal activity that would constitute a so-called originating crime with regard to money laundering.
The targets set for cooperation in justice and home affairs can be realised only through comprehensive action. That is why the European Council has approved the political guidelines regarding how the Union’s external action must be strengthened in order to achieve the targets for justice and home affairs. The results achieved in cooperation with the Baltic Countries are an example of practical regional action to combat organised crime. Special attention was paid at Tampere to closer cooperation with the Balkans region.
I would like to thank the President for the views of Parliament that you presented at the European Council in Tampere, when it began its work. I believe that the decisions taken at Tampere correspond well with the expectations that Parliament had of the meeting there. The European Council has approved both the policy guidelines and the practical action to help the Union become an area of freedom, security and justice, within the meaning of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
Implementing the decisions taken at Tampere will begin immediately, but it will obviously take time. Monitoring will be carried out using a method that proved beneficial in the creation of the single market. The Commission is drafting a proposal for a scoreboard to monitor the implementation of decisions and adherence to timetables. A thorough survey of achievements will be undertaken in the European Council during the Belgian Presidency in December 2001.
Madam President, if you will allow me I will briefly present the most important aims we still wish to achieve during the Finnish Presidency.
The most important decision taken at the European Council at Helsinki will affect the future of the whole of Europe. At Tampere, I became increasingly convinced that Member States have a very converging opinion of how Union enlargement should be taken forward. The political impetus behind the process that has begun must not be lost. Finland, as the country holding the presidency, wishes to ensure that all applicant countries are encouraged and supported equally in their efforts to meet the criteria for membership. Each applicant country must progress on the basis of their individual conditions. We wish to ensure that the better-prepared states can move forward in negotiations faster than the others.
We would like to point out to the applicant countries that the membership criteria set at Copenhagen must be met before membership is possible. I am convinced that, on the basis of the proposals announced by the Commission on 13 October, it will be possible to take decisions at Helsinki that will be based on a comprehensive, credible and consistent policy. This is vital to ensure that the enlargement process has a positive impact on European stability.
But the Union must also reform. I discussed this with the President this morning. The process by which we try to strengthen Europe cannot be allowed to weaken decision-making in the institutions of the Union and, hence, the Union’s capacity for action. I will be presenting a report to the European Council in Helsinki on necessary institutional reforms, which are due to be approved in an Intergovernmental Conference to be held in 2000.
The Finnish Presidency will comply with the European Council mandate, which means preparing a brief agenda for the Intergovernmental Conference. Over the next few years, however, we require a broader debate within the Union on what sort of European Union we actually need, in order to be able to respond better to the challenges that lie ahead. I do not wish, in this connection, to estimate when the Member States will be ready to take steps in a more ambitious direction and amend the Treaties for the further development of the Union. Hurrying the matter is not necessarily of any benefit, but the need for more thorough reform is growing, both with enlargement and the changes in the world outside the Union.
The development of a common security and defence policy and the Union’s readiness to respond to crises is one of our most important objectives. The Union has the potential to develop into a strong global player, as it has at its disposal a vast range of political and financial instruments and resources. A common foreign and security policy is presently being reinforced through common strategies. In order to become a credible player in maintaining peace and stability, the Union also needs a civil and military capacity for crisis management. The report that we will present at the European Council in Helsinki discusses an approach to integrate both civil and military means to solve conflict situations. We would like to achieve real progress in the development of security and defence policy and take prompt and decisive steps forward.
Finally, I have to say that we, as the country to hold the presidency, wish to improve effectiveness and transparency in the work of the Union. This is a key question when securing the confidence of the people in the work of the Union. During our presidential term we have started to reform the work of the Council. We have improved transparency in its work and access to documents, and we are announcing meeting schedules for the Council and working parties, and agendas for meetings of the Council. A debate on other proposals for reforms to increase transparency is presently under way. The Commission may still issue during the Finnish presidential term a proposal as required under Article 255 for rules on transparency. I hope that we can, in this way too, leave a permanent imprint of our presidency on the work of the Union.
Madam President, I await with interest the opportunity to enter into discussions with the Members of Parliament.
The results we achieved at Tampere can, in my opinion, be regarded as successful in many regards in terms of the expectations of the public and the development of the Union. Obviously, expectations cannot always be fulfilled in all respects, but it is good to be able to say that the NGOs, such as the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, have praised the results achieved at Tampere. Sadako Ogata, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told me on the telephone, after the meeting, how satisfied the UNHCR is with the outcome of the meeting. I assured her that we would continue on a path of good cooperation with the UNHCR in the implementation of the decisions as well.
The meeting at Tampere was, for many reasons, important for the Union. The European Council sped up the implementation of the Treaty of Amsterdam, making it a concrete reality. At Tampere, justice and home affairs were raised to the highest political level in cooperation with the Union. The meeting took an important step forward towards closer cooperation among the Member States, and it was decided to break down the barriers to cooperation between the police and judicial authorities. The Member States of the Union showed determination in bringing the work of the Union closer to the people by tackling commonly shared concerns and deficiencies in Union cooperation. At Tampere, the Union strengthened the basis for cooperation in justice and home affairs, of which a respect for the principles of human rights agreements, civil freedoms and rule of law are an essential part.
The European Council called its results the ten milestones, and I will briefly consider them here.
At Tampere a step was taken in the direction of a common Union policy on immigration and asylum. The European Council emphasised the consideration that asylum and immigration issues are separate, but are still close to one another. The first milestone for Tampere is the creation of a comprehensive policy for the union on questions of immigration and asylum. What is most important is to have an influence on the reasons behind emigration through contact with the countries concerned. The European Council meeting welcomed the work the high level taskforce has done to draft action plans for influencing reasons for emigration. This work requires a wide-ranging assortment of Union foreign policy and policy on development cooperation, human rights and trade, and the prevention of conflicts. The taskforce’s mandate was extended to the drafting of new action plans.
We decided to strive towards a common European policy on the asylum system. This decision is, I believe, one of the most important of the breakthroughs at Tampere. The European Council adopted a very strong position in support of the right to asylum by committing to a full and comprehensive interpretation of the Geneva Convention regarding the European asylum policy. The principle of
according to which no one may be sent back into a situation where they might suffer persecution, was again reinforced separately.
Building a common system will obviously take time. The Commission is being asked, however, to draft within one year an announcement on the creation of a common asylum procedure and on a common status for those granted asylum throughout the Union. With the implementation of the decisions taken at Tampere we can decisively improve the way the asylum system works, as well as standards of fairness, in Europe. An important achievement at Tampere was setting an objective whereby those who have migrated into the Union legally must have rights and obligations comparable with those of Union citizens. The legal position in particular of those who have resided in the Union for a longer period of time must be improved, for example, by guaranteeing the right to stay, the right to education and work, and the right to practice a profession.
The Union must also defend its most important values against intolerance and discrimination. This must be something that is today regarded as being very important in the European Parliament as well. The European Council emphasises the importance of more effective action to combat racism and xenophobia, and urges Member States to draft national programmes for this purpose."@en1
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