Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-24-Speech-3-033"
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"en.20011024.1.3-033"2
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"Mr President, we approve the approach of the informal Ghent Council, which reaffirmed its solidarity with the United States, and confirmed and strengthened the implementation of an action plan containing 79 measures to combat terrorism.
On this issue, I can only reiterate what I said on 3 October 2001 in this Chamber, when I called on the Council to give priority, from now on, to security, to review the former strategies that have become inappropriate, to recognise that the controls do not restrict freedom of movement, that they restrict criminals and protect the freedom of our citizens.
At the time, I called for a review of the disastrous Article 62(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, which demands the systematic abolition of controls on third country nationals, when crossing the internal borders of the European Union.
In response, Mr Michel told me that my ideas – and I quote ‘would lead straight to a society which restricts freedoms’. In my view, this unjustified accusation – which I naturally refute – illustrates the reservations and the obstacles we can encounter in our fight against terrorism.
Fortunately, the Council appears to have overcome these obstacles, at least partly, since in the road map published by the last Justice and Home Affairs Council, there is a discreet proposal for the Council to study ‘arrangements for coordinated recourse […] to Article 2(2)’ of the Schengen Convention. So, ladies and gentlemen, what is Article 2(2) of the Schengen Convention? It is, as you may have guessed, the safeguard clause that my friends and I defended so staunchly, which will be so useful in the future and which enables internal border controls to be re-introduced.
Mentalities are now changing, so all is not lost. Obviously, we must differentiate between withdrawing freedoms and controls, particularly at borders, which, within the framework of our democratic values, seek to preserve our freedoms. This distinction is essential. I hope, and I want to believe, Mr President, that the Council understands this."@en1
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