Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-13-Speech-2-250"
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"en.20051213.55.2-250"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I think it can be said that a debate and a political process have taken place in this Chamber in recent weeks that have not only given Parliament a greater role in the fight against terrorism and organised crime, but have also enhanced the overall image of the three European institutions.
In one of the many speeches, I heard someone say that this directive is an undemocratic instrument; some people even mentioned Stalin and Hitler. This directive is a victory for democracy: it is an important, balanced instrument that serves both the people and, above all, those engaged in the fight against crime who pay the price even on a personal level. I am referring to the investigating authorities, the police forces.
Besides, as Mr Cashman very clearly put it, what is the cost of not deciding, what is the cost of not doing anything? Do we want to carry on with 20 different legal systems, in which each Member State does substantially what it wants, or is it not better instead to come together for the first time with a European approach, a directive, the first step towards harmonisation?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a directive firmly based on the principles of necessity and proportionality. I have heard certain demands, for instance those made by Mr Reul and Mrs Kudrycka, who mentioned an idea that the Polish Parliament is examining. I can certainly say that retaining data for 15 years does not seem to be in keeping with the criteria of proportionality and necessity. Even though each Member State has a duty to demonstrate why its request is proportional and necessary, 15 years frankly seems to me a really extreme case.
I should still like to make two final considerations. I am grateful to all those, particularly Mr Díaz de Mera García Consuegra and Mrs Díez González, who have chosen to remember the victims of crime and have sought to emphasise that the fundamental freedoms of the person must definitely be assured – something with which I fully agree. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, if someone uses a mobile phone to set off a bomb, as unfortunately has happened, or to give instructions to a gang of paedophiles, is it not right that the police and the courts, that is to say the legitimate institutions, should have the tools to prevent and to tackle such crimes?
I think it is right that that should happen, and at the same time I think it is right that any abuse of the system should be punished, as we have stated in the directive. The police forces need more tools, as do the courts in our countries, which are democracies, as well as more checks to see whether anyone has abused the system.
To conclude, the European institutions have unfortunately been divided, and still are, on major issues, but it is highly reassuring – and I hope tomorrow’s vote will confirm this – to see that the European institutions will not be divided on the subject of people’s security and the fight against terrorism and organised crime. Instead, all three of them together will have the ability to respond extremely quickly to our fellow citizens’ needs."@en1
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