Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-124"
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"en.20021023.3.3-124"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Haarder
ladies and gentlemen, the recent tragic events in Indonesia are proof that terrorism, a mindless and cowardly crime, can still strike and inflict devastating consequences, despite the efforts, over the last year, of the international community in general, and the European Union in particular.
Turning to matters beyond our own borders, and without going into too much detail with regard to our actions, as Commissioner Patten will come back to this subject, our cooperation with the United States deserves a particular mention. The agreement on strategic cooperation between Europol and the United States, which provides for the exchange of strategic information and liaison officers, is a good example of this cooperation. We are currently working to extend this cooperation at police level by means of cooperation at judiciary level within the framework of Eurojust. The agreements currently being negotiated, whether they relate to the exchange of personal data, extradition or mutual assistance, will also play a crucial role. The Commission welcomes the fact that the mandates issued by the Council enforce the guarantee of the full respect of our values and our principles of law through these future cooperation agreements.
Let us reiterate, however, assuming that this is necessary: what is currently at stake in the fight against terrorism is not only the protection of our principles, it is, first and foremost, the protection of our fellow citizens as well as the guarantee, in times of misfortune, that solidarity can be demonstrated. I will also point out that, last week, the Commission proposed that all victims of crime and terrorism in the European Union will be compensated for the personal injury and losses that they have suffered, and that a minimum standard will be determined with regard to this compensation. Solidarity and prevention are also at the heart of the very practical initiatives taken in the area of air safety and civil protection in order to improve coordination and cooperation between Member States, including issues relating to public health and the protection of public facilities essential for community life, such as water supply or electricity or nuclear power stations.
For the first time, on 27 and 28 October, a European civil protection exercise will simulate the consequences of a terrorist attack involving radiological and chemical materials, in order to test the new surveillance and information centre established by the Commission. These considerable efforts must not and will not stop there, however. The prevention and the fight against terrorism require, more than ever before, the strengthening of the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice. This is one of the major challenges of our work within the Convention on the future of Europe. The Commission will put forward proposals for institutional reform so that the Union has all the resources necessary to contend with, in a diligent and effective manner, the challenges we currently face and, above all, the challenges that the future holds.
These events can only strengthen our belief that we must relentlessly combat this terror using all the resources available and from a global perspective. The European Union has a major role to play in this fight, as Minister Haarder has so skilfully illustrated.
Our response to terrorism is based on the determination to rapidly provide the European Union and its Member States with the resources to cooperate more effectively, and for this cooperation to be undertaken with full respect for our democratic principles, with a view to enhance both the protection of fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
Furthermore, it must be noted that the reason why the European Union’s reaction in the wake of the 11 September attacks was so swift is largely due to the synergy between our institutions, namely Parliament, the Commission and the Council. This synergy was equally evident in the implementation of an inter-pillar approach which was able to respond to the magnitude of the challenge posed by terrorism, whether it be international terrorism or terrorism within each of our Member States.
I do not wish to go back over the benefits that have already been gained from implementing the strategy that we adopted last year. I shall instead speak about the fact that, following the Commission proposals, the Union adopted a common definition of terrorism, harmonised the penalties applicable to acts of terrorism and created a European arrest warrant. These instruments are proving to be useful in the negotiations of the World Convention against Terrorism which is taking place within the United Nations.
With regard to police cooperation, considerable progress has been made in strengthening operational collaboration between the national anti-terrorism forces and Europol. This operational cooperation is sometimes not particularly obvious, but it exists and it has been much improved over the last year.
The Commission can only welcome the efforts made to improve analytical capabilities, especially as far as Europol’s assessment of the terrorist threat is concerned, and particularly as regards the specific measures which have been taken to increase the amount of information provided to Europol, including the exchange between police forces and information services of the Member States, and to ensure that this tool for cooperation and analysis is improved and used more widely.
Following the European Parliament’s initiative, the Commission itself proposed to the Council to finance, from the Community budget, specific activities designed to provide Europol with the additional resources required to strengthen and coordinate the action of Member States in the fight against terrorism.
As far as the fight against the financing of terrorism in Europe is concerned, I note that work is continuing on the development of instruments which facilitate the freezing of assets and block the funds of terrorist organisations, and also in the area of mutual recognition which will make it possible to act upon instructions to freeze assets that are issued by a judiciary authority of one Member State in another Member State. In 2003, the Commission will undertake an assessment of the mechanisms adopted against financial crime and, in parallel, will put forward a proposal on freezing and confiscating funds of entities controlled by individuals involved in the financing of terrorist activities. This is to ensure that legitimate activities cannot be used to finance terrorism. The protection of our external borders has also been the subject of intense work and of some initial innovative proposals, which some consider to be audacious, but which, in my view, are perfect for weighing up the many challenges that the Union must be prepared to face in order to safeguard its stability and domestic security."@en1
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