Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-03-Speech-3-068"
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"en.20011003.2.3-068"2
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"Mr President, at the close of this debate let me thank all the speakers, although I will not be able to reply to each one individually in the few minutes that remain. Let me say, on behalf of the Commission, that I was touched by the support several of you gave to the work we are doing during these difficult and serious times, side by side with the Council and the European Parliament.
Turning to the most important issue, which almost all speakers addressed, the fight against terrorism, let me remind you of the spirit in which we are undertaking it. We, and in particular my colleague and friend Mr Vitorino, take account in our activities of the important work done by Parliament, and in particular the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs under its chairman Mr Watson. In fact we were working with that committee this morning on the final text submitted to you on freezing the assets of organisations linked to terrorism. At this point, I can confirm that the Commission, like the Council, is prepared to take on board any suggestions or proposals from Parliament where at all possible.
To echo Mr Poettering's concern, let me repeat what I said in my statement this morning about the fight against terrorism. That fight certainly involves all the states; in no case can it be reduced to some kind of conflict between the different civilisations of the world. As Mrs Béres and Mr Salafranca said, we must build a global alliance and wage a global fight against terrorism.
Let me also point out – in response to a number of speakers, Mr Lannoye, Mr Michel and Mr Di Lello – that we are most concerned during our activities with steering the best possible course between the need for freedom and the need for security. Perhaps, as Mr Michel advised, it would be a good idea to carry out regular, careful evaluations to ensure that we remain on course.
I listened carefully to the recommendations of several Members, in particular Mr Collins, who called for determined and vigorous measures; I also noted the encouragement offered by Mr Berthu, calling on us to continue to work towards an objective that has clearly emerged since Amsterdam and since Tampere: a common judicial area, with the necessary cooperation between Member States and between all the services – and let me say to Mr Dupuis that I certainly mean all the services – and the necessary harmonisation or communitarisation in some areas. Nor am I forgetting, just as you must not forget, that in Amsterdam and Tampere we also looked at ways of tackling illegal immigration.
Finally, on terrorism, as part of our collective action, we, the Commission, the Council and Parliament, must implement our common foreign policy by establishing a political dialogue, by preventing and stabilising all the regional conflicts, by giving marked support to development. A number of you discussed this in relation to long-term action. I am thinking here of Mr McMillan-Scott and Mr van Velzen. And then, of course, in the shorter term, there are the support and cooperation measures to help the refugees.
Overall, looking at this serious challenge of fighting terrorism, let me emphasise what Mr Klaus Hänsch and, in a sense, Mr Nassauer said a moment ago. We are facing a moment of truth and it is likely that the European Union will emerge stronger from this crisis in terms of the values and rationale of the European project. As I said myself, it is also likely that we will have to step up the pace and find additional reasons for taking this European project further.
Ladies and gentlemen, even if it is difficult to explain this to you at this time of the day and with all this hubbub, I believe there is a link between, on the one hand, the political lessons we have to learn from this crisis and from the tragedy of New York and Washington, which tell us to speed up, to intensify, to prove once again the value of European integration and, on the other hand, that broad debate that began after Nice and is due to conclude in 2002. There is a link with the activities the convention will have to undertake. Speaking of that convention…"@en1
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