Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-27-Speech-3-007"
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"en.19991027.1.3-007"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the conclusions reached in Tampere combine a strong political message on the priority given to the construction of an area of freedom, security and justice with the concern to define priorities which concentrate on those issues which directly affect the daily lives of Europe’s citizens.
The Commission is looking at its own role and proposes to act by responding to the ambitious action plan for fighting money-laundering, which involves changes both in the Union’s position towards the rest of the world, and also at the level of legislation in each Member State.
However, Madam President, Tampere did not fully meet all of the Commission’s expectations. Without wishing to criticise the positive results which, to a large extent, have just been highlighted by the President-in-Office of the Council, I cannot help admitting that on some points, the Commission is rather disappointed. The Commission regrets that the European Council has not accepted the idea of a single asylum system which represents, as we see it, something to aim for, but also the urgent necessity of dealing with asylum issues in a collective and coherent way. The Commission will not stop making proposals which will allow us to dispel any possible fears that a centralised asylum system may bring about in some Member States.
Similarly, I regret the fact that some Member States were reluctant to support the idea of a European refugee fund, even though the Commission made it clear that this fund would not involve any new or additional expenditure. The lessons drawn from Bosnia and Kosovo reinforce our conviction that it is crucial to persist in explaining our aims, which we hope will happen before the end of the current year, specifically in the context of preparing the 2000 budget.
Tampere did not allow the idea of a European Public Prosecutor to be adopted yet, even one who would be limited to protecting the Community’s financial interests. I would like to suggest that the next debate on the Intergovernmental Conference might be a good opportunity to take up this idea of ours once again.
The Heads of State and Government have thus set themselves the obligation to respect the solemn commitment they made in Tampere. The Commission, on the basis of dialogue and cooperation with the European Parliament, is prepared to do everything necessary in order to create an area of freedom, security and justice which, above all, achieves balance between its three components: freedom, security and justice.
The letter that President Romano Prodi wrote to the European Council highlighted our main concern which was that Tampere should not be a restrictive summit. This objective was achieved. The Commission is particularly pleased with this fact. And I would like to emphasise that the steadfast affirmation of the untouchable nature of the Geneva Convention as a basis for constructing a European asylum policy is something that merits our backing and applause.
We are pleased with the commitment given at the highest level to working in partnership with countries of origin and transit countries in confronting immigration issues. We are pleased with the far greater emphasis given to fighting the trade in human beings than to action against its victims in relation to illegal immigration. The Commission backs the clear affirmation of the importance of prevention in the fight against crime, whether it is financial crime, crime in the cities or juvenile crime, and notes that its efforts to give special prominence to the rights of victims of criminal activity have been recognised.
The Commission agrees with the proactive view of the establishment of a European concept of access to justice as an instrument for people to exercise their right to free movement without obstacles of a legal or administrative nature. It is also necessary that this right to free circulation should now be accompanied by the legislative measures which are necessary for us to be able to achieve it as quickly as possible.
The Commission is pleased with the establishment of the principle of harmonising, as fully as possible, the rights of citizens originally from third countries, but who have lived for a long time in the Union, with the rights and duties granted to citizens who are nationals of the Union’s Member States. We realise that we will have to move forward with specific proposals in this area.
Finally, the Commission would like to single out the establishment of the clear priority given to fighting racism, xenophobia, and all forms of discrimination, which are laid down in Article 13 of the Treaty, as being a very positive move.
Similarly, the Tampere conclusions tackle, in an appropriate way, the strengthening of cooperation between police forces and between judicial authorities in order to protect and preserve the freedoms of Europe’s citizens. The conclusions do this in a way which is necessary in order to respond to citizens’ legitimate concerns about security and about the judicial guarantee of their rights, as is fitting in a Union which claims to be founded on the principle of the prevalence of rights and of the law.
I would like to highlight, in this regard, the principle of mutual recognition of decisions and sentences, which all Member States should contribute to by adopting common definitions and penalties against certain criminal activities which transcend borders,. This would cover areas such as organised crime, illegal drug trafficking, the trade in human beings, or crimes against children. I would also like to highlight the establishment of the EUROJUST network which is, without any doubt, the beginning of the construction of a European Judicial system which will be an instrument of support and monitoring for EUROPOL’s actions in guaranteeing security within the Union and which will also be an instrument for protecting the rights of European citizens."@en1
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