Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-23-Speech-3-039"
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"en.20080423.3.3-039"2
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"Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union-United States 'justice, freedom and security' ministerial Troika, in which Mr Mate and Vice-President Frattini took part in March, was an excellent opportunity to discuss certain important issues with our American counterparts.
We have taken a step in the right direction by adopting the ministerial declaration on the approach to be adopted for the introduction of new American legislation on visa exemption. Under that legislation, security agreements have to be signed with countries that are or will be members of the Visa Waiver Programme. The United States has noted the two-prong approach required in the case of the European Union, in which competences in that area are divided between the Community and the Member States. Matters of national competence will be discussed with the national authorities; matters that are a Union responsibility will be discussed with the European authorities. The American negotiators have also endorsed the joint objective of secure travel between the European Union and the United States, without a visa, as soon as possible.
To achieve that objective, the Commission has proposed a mandate for the Council that would allow it to open negotiations with the United States. I am grateful to Mr Mate, who chaired the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 18 April, because thanks to a very wide consensus the Council was prepared to assign that mandate to the Commission. That is proof of our joint intention to work and proceed in a unified fashion, which is obviously more efficient.
The Commission will now be opening negotiations as soon as possible. We have already been in touch with the American authorities. We need to make rapid progress with the United States on the conditions for the Visa Waiver Programme, which is a Community competence. At the same time we have to safeguard the rights and freedoms of our citizens, to ensure access for Member States as quickly as possible. We intend to take particular care that any agreement between the Community and the United States is based on the principle of reciprocity, on respect for fundamental rights and individual freedoms, including data protection and the right to a private life.
As Mr Mate has just said, we shall also be discussing the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation in the negotiations. Under the Visa Waiver Programme, passengers travelling to the United States by air or sea will have to answer certain questions online before departure. They will then be issued with an electronic travel authorisation. I should point out that the system is already operating between the European Union and Australia. The United States has several times supplied us with information on the arrangements for operating the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA), notably at our video-conference with Mr Chertoff, the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Obviously further clarification is required and Mr Mate and I will discuss these matters again with Mr Chertoff when he comes to Brussels in mid-May. We have to maintain solidarity between the Member States on this whole issue. The two-prong, double track approach will only work efficiently if the states are totally transparent in their negotiations with the United States. The United States should shortly be submitting the arrangements for implementation of the memoranda of understanding with Member States that have signed them, because these implementing agreements are clearly essential and it will be our responsibility to evaluate them.
Finally, in close association with the Presidency, the Commission will be pursuing its longstanding dialogue with the United States. Relations between the European Union and the United States in that area require a confident and essential partnership. The security of our citizens calls for joint action that safeguards fundamental rights. In my view, adopting the negotiating mandate is the best possible compromise. It allows the Member States discretion to negotiate with the United States on matters that are their prerogative, such as cooperation and exchanges of information between intelligence services, but it is of course up to us to ensure that travel to the United States is possible for all citizens of the Union. The extension of the Visa Waiver Programme has been criticised in the United States Congress, but I think that, with support from the European Parliament and the Minister, we shall be able to uphold the position of the European Union, which wants to stand firm on equal treatment for all its citizens.
That is what I can tell Parliament this morning. I shall now listen carefully to your speeches, which will provide clarification for the forthcoming negotiations."@en1
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