Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-14-Speech-2-090"
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"en.20001114.4.2-090"2
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".
In my speech this morning, I presented the principles justifying my opposition to the Charter. Moreover, the members of the SOS Democracy Intergroup have notified me that they fully endorse these principles. I should now like to list my reservations concerning a number of specific articles. I previously had occasion to table amendments on these in the course of my work as a member of the Convention. These reservations may be classed in five main categories:
. Article 2(2) provides a typical example, “No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.” This declaration does not fall within any sort of European jurisdiction. Its inclusion in the Charter, like the inclusion of many other similar articles, casts doubt on the accuracy of Article 51(2), which states, “This Charter does not establish any new power or task for the Community or the Union, or modify powers and tasks defined by the Treaties.” Of course, if the Charter were to be made binding, then Article 2(2) would also thereby become binding, with far greater power than the European Convention on Human Rights, from which a country is still entitled to opt out.
Several articles go further than the existing law. Article 19(1), for example, states that “Collective expulsions are prohibited” but does not specify that this ban may be suspended in the event of war or serious internal public order disturbances. Admittedly, Article 52(2) provides that “Insofar as this Charter contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the meaning and scope of those rights shall be the same as those laid down by the said Convention”, but this phrase is far too vague. We have just heard it stated that collective expulsions are prohibited in all cases.
There is another new obligation, as Article 21 adds further instances of non-discrimination to those already laid down under Article 13 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community. Article 21(2) goes so far as to prohibit discrimination based on nationality within the scope of application of the Treaty Establishing the European Community and of the Treaty on European Union, which goes beyond any existing text.
As a third example of this, Article 45 states that “Freedom of movement and residence may be granted to nationals of third countries legally resident in the territory of a Member State”, even though the law to this effect, as contemplated by Article 62 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, is not currently in force, and perhaps never will be if the conditions are not met.
. This applies particularly to the economic and social rights listed in Chapter IV of the Charter. Article 29, for example, states that “Everyone has the right of access to a free placement service”, but this is a statement that refers exclusively to the current circumstances, which may be assessed differently at a later date.
. Even though the countries of Europe currently find themselves in an alarming demographic position, the Charter deals extremely lightly with the problems of the family. There is no statement, despite our requests, to the effect that a family is made up of a man and a woman raising their children, and that that is the basic unit of society. Article 24, on the rights of the child, even fails to say, once again in spite of our requests, that every child has the right to live with his or her parents. At the same time, the Charter is far too reticent on the existence of national communities and their right to frame their own regulations. For instance, the new requirement for non-discrimination on grounds of language, found in Articles 21 and 22, contradicts the French Constitution which stipulates that the language of the Republic of France is French.
. I have already mentioned Article 51(1) which states, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the Charter in no way modifies powers or tasks defined by the Treaties. In point of fact, the Charter contains so many contradictions that, some day, someone will have to have the job of unpicking the tangle. In the same vein, I have mentioned 52(2) which claims that the meaning and scope of the rights in the Charter shall be the same as those in the European Convention on Human Rights. The fact is that this approximation is very hard to determine, as it is impossible to tell, when reading the Charter, whether one is dealing with an article which is supposed to be complying with the Convention, or an article which is deliberately distancing itself from it. Finally, let me also mention Article 52(1), which indicates that limitations on rights may be introduced if they “genuinely meet objectives of general interest being pursued by the Union.” Were the Charter to become binding, a phrase such as this would put extreme limitations upon the sovereignty of States.
More generally, we regret the fact that the preamble to the Charter did not put the document in perspective by pointing out that the European Union is an association of nations and that citizens have the fundamental right to have the decision they have taken democratically at national level respected. As I stated in the debate prior to this vote, my hope is that if the governments meeting in Nice wish to adopt this Charter as a political statement, they will preface it with an introductory statement to this effect and pointing out the basic jurisdiction of national parliaments over citizens’ rights."@en1
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"Articles establishing new obligations without justification."1
"Articles failing to recognise the natural laws of life in society"1
"Articles obfuscating or distorting the Charter"1
"Articles setting unlawful constraints upon still developing situations"1
"Articles trampling on State competences"1
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