Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-11-Speech-1-079"
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"en.20050411.15.1-079"2
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".
Mr President, my group has grave concerns about the plan to track, in future, when and with whom citizens communicate by telephone, fax and e-mail and indeed, which websites they visit, so as to establish a record of their interests. That is surely totally unacceptable and is a typical example of legislation that serves above all else to help politicians feel better about themselves and to demonstrate that they can, at times, take decisive action, although it remains to be seen whether or not it is effective. Would it not be preferable to channel the many millions involved into specific investigations? Before I even consider giving my approval, I would like the Council to give me good reasons why this huge increase is necessary, proportionate and effective. I defy the Council to give me the bare facts and leave out the empty rhetoric.
My group is also – as Mr Alvaro said a moment ago – deeply worried about the procedure. The Council knows that Parliament feels very strongly about civil rights and effective measures to combat crime, more so than do the governments. That is why the governments are resolutely determined to legislate without any parliament being involved. The Commission and the legal services tell us that this subject falls within the scope of the first pillar where Parliament has a say. The Commission has already said it will table a proposal of its own, but the Council, as if on automatic pilot, continues to hold meetings on the proposal of those four Member States.
I would also like to know how this can be reconciled with the governments’ position on the Constitution, which stipulates, after all, that Parliament will become colegislator in the third pillar too. The governments claim they very much want this democratic control, but they stand to lose every shred of credibility if they now try to avoid it by quickly forcing something through which will have huge implications for the public and for hundreds of Internet and telecoms businesses. Will the Council simply decide to wait for the Commission’s proposal, or should this House again go to the Court of Justice to enforce democracy on the Member States by means of a legal ruling?"@en1
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