Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-02-Speech-3-174"
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"en.20030702.5.3-174"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner Lamy, ladies and gentlemen, it is both a great honour and a great responsibility for the Italian Presidency to take the floor before the European Parliament on the issue of the International Criminal Court. It is certainly an honour since Italy has, from the very beginning, been among the Court's major supporters and has given its name to the Rome Statute. It is, at the same time, however, a great responsibility for the Italian Presidency to continue to support, with the same determination as our predecessors, the efforts of the international community to give life to an international jurisdiction that puts an end to impunity for those guilty of committing the most heinous crimes.
The Court is proving to be a great success: to date, 90 countries have joined the Rome Statute. The Court held its inaugural session this year and, with the election of its President, judges, Prosecutor and Registrar, has become a fully functioning element in international relations. The European Union can be proud of having made a decisive contribution to these developments. The Italian Presidency has an important heritage to defend, and it intends to defend it. Only a few days ago, on 16 June, the Council confirmed its commitment to the Court through the adoption of a common position that has the political significance of confirming the European Union's unconditional support for the institution. On the basis of the common position, the May 2002 Action Plan will be updated. Action in support of the Court will remain an essential component of the Union's foreign policy measures. As you all know, in the pursuit of this action, the European Union will find itself facing some sensitive and complex issues, but this will certainly not lessen our commitment in any way.
Our initiative will take various forms. Firstly, Italy will represent the European Union at the Second Assembly of States Parties in September. We are diligently preparing for this engagement and we will do everything in our power to resolve all the issues which are still outstanding with regard to the institution and the way it functions. Secondly, to ensure the Court’s efficient functioning and guarantee its independence, the European Union will continue to encourage the States to transfer swiftly and fully their contributions, determined according to the decisions made by the Assembly, and to respect the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the Court. Thirdly, the European Union will continue to urge those States that have not yet done so, to become party to the Statute, because we believe that the broadest possible participation is both desirable and necessary. In accordance with the provisions of the common position, a large-scale awareness campaign has already been launched in this regard, particularly in the context of political dialogue with non-Member States. Fourthly, the European Union will continue to uphold the integrity of the Rome Statute, including in our relations with our friend, the United States of America. As you can imagine, this is a frequent item on the agenda in transatlantic discussions and it was raised just last week at the European Union/United States Summit in Washington. Ladies and gentlemen, our aim is to pursue broad dialogue on all aspects of the issue with the United States. We and the United States share the same fundamental values and place the same importance – great importance – on the objective of putting an end to impunity for the most serious crimes and identifying the people responsible for committing them. However, objectively speaking, we have to admit that our views differ on what the Court’s role should be. The United States, with its massive presence on a global scale, is concerned about the possibility of politically-motivated accusations against its citizens. The European Union believes that the Court’s Statute provides sufficient guarantees of impartiality and authoritativeness, such as the high calibre of the judges and the principle of complementarity of the Court’s work, to lessen, or even allay the fears of possible exploitation of the institution’s activities. My predecessors have updated Parliament on developments in these ongoing discussions between the European Union and the United States of America and on the initiatives developed by both parties. I will not repeat what everyone already knows, but I would like to point out how, as far as Italy is concerned, we intend to proceed during this Presidency.
The United States fears
that the Court could constitute a threat, albeit an indirect one, to the conduct and implementation of United Nations’ peacekeeping operations. The European Union considers that the Court is an important safeguard for the protection of peace forces too. In this context, the UN Security Council has examined the United States’ proposals to exclude peace forces from the Court’s jurisdiction for two consecutive years. The European Union was able to express its firm support for the Court during Security Council meetings open to non-Member States in both years. This year, the Union also publicly came out in favour of convening the Security Council meeting which took place on 12 June. During this meeting, all the members of the Security Council were asked to strive to find a solution which would preserve both the integrity of the Rome Statute and the smooth operation of peace missions: two factors which are clearly not incompatible.
The United States, as you know, is seeking to conclude a series of bilateral agreements to exempt its citizens from the Court’s jurisdiction. We heard yesterday that US military assistance has been withdrawn from some countries, including five which are about to join the European Union, which have declared that they are not amenable to such agreements. The Union regrets this measure. We do, of course, intend to analyse the matter in depth with a view to further talks with Washington.
I would remind you that, last September, the Council adopted Conclusions with certain guidelines to follow in concluding exemption agreements in order to preserve the integrity of the Rome Statute. The conclusions and guidelines were first and foremost intended for Member States and candidate countries, but they are clearly relevant to all States Parties to the Rome Statute. These documents have been disseminated in a large number of non-Member States with the intention of informing them of the basic position that the European Union has already taken over this issue. The European Union is firmly convinced that the International Criminal Court will make the world a safer place, or rather, it will help make the world a safer, fairer and more peaceful place. The simple fact of establishing the Court in practice will be a deterrent to committing the most serious crimes. By putting an end to impunity, the Court will strengthen the supremacy of the law and make a fundamental contribution to peace.
In conclusion, the Court will very soon prove to be a genuinely independent, effective institution. It will do so by working on actual cases and those who distrust it will be able to see – I repeat, from the Court’s actual work – that the Rome Statute guarantees the highest criteria of justice and does not lend itself – or, at least, we must endeavour to ensure that it never lends itself – to political manipulation. This will, of course, be one of our tasks in the frank, friendly dialogue between the Presidency and the United States of America."@en1
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