Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-11-Speech-1-059"
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"en.20010611.4.1-059"2
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is estimated that as many as 700 000 women and children are trafficked every year. From the Central and Eastern European states alone, 120 000 women and children are lured to the European Union every year. These are the figures on which the Commission proceeds. The fates of the individuals profiled in the media, but also the statistics highlight the urgent need to combat human trafficking through a coordinated and cooperative approach.
Combating trafficking in human beings is a very difficult task in itself. However, it is made more difficult through the highly diverse provisions of criminal law at national level. Definitions and penalties differ widely, and in many Member States, ‘human trafficking’ does not even exist as an offence in the criminal code. The European Union has therefore worked for a number of years to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat this trade in human beings.
With the Palermo protocol, which was signed at the end of 2000, agreement was reached on specific common definitions for the first time. The Commission proposal now aims to lay down, by means of a Framework Decision, minimum rules concerning the constituent elements of criminal acts, and minimum penalties. The imposition of a minimum jail sentence of six years, or ten years where the circumstances make the crime more serious, should be sufficient to bring trafficking in human beings within the scope of other instruments already adopted for the purposes of enhancing police and judicial cooperation in the European Union against organised crime. In my opinion, the Commission's proposal should be viewed positively. I especially welcome the fact that it encompasses not only the criminal act of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, but also trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation.
The Commission also makes a clear distinction between trafficking in human beings, and facilitation of unauthorised entry of migrants, commonly termed ‘smuggling’. While the smuggling of human beings is viewed as an offence against the state, trafficking in human beings is a crime against persons. The Commission's draft and the various amendments proposed by the participating committees will enable us to achieve a uniform Europe-wide definition of trafficking in human beings, set minimum penalties, and give priority to protecting the victims as well as punishing the perpetrators. I should like to thank all the members of the participating committees for their cooperation in achieving this result.
Finally, I should like to comment on the requested referral of my report back to the Committee on Home Affairs. At the start of deliberations, such a tight schedule was imposed on the European Parliament by the Council's timetable that tremendous efforts were required to ensure that the substantive work on the draft could take place with the necessary thoroughness and level of detail. The Members involved expressed their willingness to undertake this task and performed outstanding work, to which I wish to pay tribute. However, the Council – without listening to the people's elected representatives – has already progressed so far in its deliberations that the signing of the political agreements is merely a formality. Clearly, the Council has no interest in the decision of the only institution in the European Union with direct democratic legitimation. A revised draft of the Framework Decision with the Council's radical amendments is already available – but not to the European Parliament. In my view, the referral of the report back to the Committee on Home Affairs is urgently required to ensure that this new version, and the Council's unacceptable approach, can be discussed. I would therefore ask you all to vote for the referral back to the Committee on Home Affairs during tomorrow's vote.
In the second half of my speech, I would like to comment on Mrs Karamanou's report on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography in the Member States, which calls for a Europe-wide coordinated approach. Organised crime – and it is primarily organised crime which is involved here – is not restricted to specific regions or states. Cross-border cooperation between criminals is well-established, especially as regards the sexual exploitation of children.
The European Union therefore urgently requires measures in order to facilitate the cross-border prosecution of these appalling crimes. I am delighted that agreement on this Framework Decision has been achieved across party lines, thus pointing the right way forward towards common definitions of criminal acts, the harmonisation of criminal law, and improving the situation of victims. This also includes extending the definition of child pornography to include the new media and discussing the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction. In my view, victim protection is especially important.
Crimes against children, in their most despicable form, that is, sexual exploitation, should no longer be dealt with solely with a view to punishing the perpetrators. The children concerned will suffer for the rest of their lives as a result of the harm inflicted on them by adults. They should therefore be our priority, and they deserve our greatest possible support. During criminal proceedings, their primary role, in legal terms, is to act as witnesses, but we should not forget that they are victims first and foremost. With the support of the European Parliament, all these points should be included in the draft before us. I am convinced that the report by Mrs Karamanou, whom I would like to thank for our good cooperation, will be supported by a substantial majority in this House, enabling us to take a further significant step in combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography."@en1
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