Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-05-Speech-3-222"
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"en.20060705.17.3-222"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank the Members who have spoken; their speeches have given me many useful ideas.
In conclusion, Mr President, I have the moral and institutional obligation, above all to myself, to respond to a personal attack on me made by Mr Catania, the only one of the 54 speakers who has asked me, for the fourth time, to clarify my role as Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time of the Abu Omar case.
I think that this question, which I have answered several times before the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, may well gain Mr Catania a mention in some headline in the Italian newspapers, but I would have thought that the obligation to tell the truth to this Parliament would have imposed on him the same duty as it does on me: to remember that the government at that time formally denied any knowledge of the Abu Omar case and did so without there being any proof to the contrary. Under Italian law, however, and here it is not a matter of opinion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the post that I held at that time, not only cannot but must not know about the operating activities of the Italian secret services.
That is a piece of information on Italian laws of which Mr Catania is aware, but of which many of you are not.
I can confirm that the European Commission is ready to continue working with this Parliament’s temporary committee on the many fundamental issues that have been addressed. Mrs Ludford has touched on the theme of the implementation of anti-terrorism legislation by Member States, a central issue on which we certainly need to work.
As you will know, unfortunately five EU Member States have not yet even transposed the European framework decision on combating terrorism; you also know that only seven out of the 25 States have ratified the Europe-United States agreement on extradition, an agreement which, if it were to come into force, would certainly clarify the legal framework precisely regarding the transfer of prisoners.
Some speakers, such as Mr Swoboda and Mrs in't Veld, have mentioned the possibility and the need to work together for improved security and greater freedom. I totally agree and I welcome the proposal made for structured, political dialogue with the United States of America on the theme of the fight against terrorism, simultaneously with the theme of safeguarding freedom. I can tell you that I had already thought about this and as early as last February I suggested that this dialogue should begin at expert level, and it has now begun.
I believe that this dialogue can proceed and I already know that the Finnish Presidency intends to move forward in this area. I think that it will be possible to exchange assessments with Parliament on the Europe-USA umbrella framework, on the fight against terrorism and on the guarantees of freedom.
Furthermore, I believe that the Guantánamo judgment handed down by the US Supreme Court proves that the system for legally supervising guarantees and rights under the US democratic system does indeed function and provides a reassuring basis for our joint work.
I am also ready for a dialogue with Parliament on the lines for restructuring the intelligence system, including democratic and parliamentary control of intelligence services; even though, as you know, national legislation alone is competent in this case, I think that a political debate on this subject would be useful.
It will also be useful to discuss the use of airspace by non-civil aviation and I can confirm that there is an ongoing debate on the notion of state aircraft and flights for institutional and State assignments; I have gathered very interesting opinions on the role of national courts, which will have their say in providing a response as to individual responsibility when the right conditions exist.
What I have said confirms my willingness, and that of all the European Commission services, to work with the temporary committee."@en1
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