Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-04-Speech-1-046"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020204.4.1-046"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Mr Oostlander notes with regret that this Commission proposal does not amount to much. It merely codifies the lowest common denominator to emerge from the legislation in the Member States.
In all honesty, I happen to be pleased with this cautious approach by the Commission. Criminal law is an area which is strongly influenced by national culture and history. In my view, restraint is still essential when competences are transferred to European level. Only where clear-cut, cross-border issues arise can European legislation offer added value.
This opinion seems to be shared by few in Parliament. Imagine my surprise when, this time, I was overtaken on the right by my fellow MEPs from the socialist and green groups. With their amendments, they set great store by the concepts of the subsidiarity principle, cultural differences and national legislation, while the issue in question, namely illegal drug trafficking, is clearly a cross-border problem which requires European legislation. My fellow MEPs want to add the words ‘cross-border’ and ‘organised’ to the definition. To me, these concepts appear to be inherent to drug trafficking and need not be added. At best, they will complicate implementation of the decision.
Finally, the rapporteur struggled with this simple codification of the lowest common denominator to emerge from Member States’ legislation. Those who tabled the amendments seem to be wrestling with the lowest common denominator itself. This does demonstrate that the subsidiarity principle is nothing more than an argument that is dusted down for the occasion in order to protect a Dutch drugs policy that is out of step internationally.
I support the proposal which makes a responsible start on combating illegal drug trafficking, a cross-border problem which directly affects the security of European citizens. In my view, the fact that the Netherlands can get into difficulty because legislation there is not applied as it should be seems to be a result of inconsistent policy. Policy needs to be aligned to European and international legislation, and not the other way round."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples