Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-503"
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"Mr President, in my opinion, the vote on this proposal is taking place at a stage in the discussions where perhaps not all the options for achieving agreement at first reading have been sufficiently explored. Following the adoption of the draft report by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on 29 November 2007, the Slovenian Presidency tried to reach a consensus between Member States on the rewording of several aspects of the text, so as to take into account the concerns expressed by the European Parliament.
In spite of this, there was disagreement with the report adopted by the Committee on three major issues. The first of these was the age limit for obtaining fingerprints, the second was the diplomatic and consular immunity granted to the premises of external service providers, and the third was the conditions for using such external service providers, together with the question of visa fees. On these three issues, the Slovenian Presidency proposed new wording to take into account Parliament’s amendments.
At the tripartite ministerial talks on 17 June, the discussion essentially concentrated on the issue of diplomatic and consular immunity for external service providers, and its corollary, the transmission of data, without any agreement being reached. The other subjects were not discussed. Since then, there has been no new debate within the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
On the extremely sensitive subject of the age limit for fingerprinting, the additional technical information provided to the rapporteur by the Commission confirms the technical reliability of taking fingerprints of children from the age of six. Nevertheless, the Commission supports the Presidency’s proposal that fingerprints should be taken from children between the ages of six and twelve only for verification purposes and not for identification in the VIS (Visa Information System). In addition, the Commission has also undertaken to carry out the study requested by the European Parliament.
Moreover, I note that this solution seems to have been chosen for the proposal on passports, on which the European Parliament has to make a decision. It seems to me, therefore, that it would be useful to continue discussions on this point, in order to find out whether this suggestion might meet with Parliament’s approval.
Another issue concerns the use of external service providers. The conditions in which Member States may use such service providers, as a last resort, have been specified, and a list of requirements to be complied with has been drawn up, based on Parliament’s amendments. Discussions on this subject should also continue. I should like to remind you that the adoption of this amendment to the common consular instructions constitutes an essential prerequisite for the implementation of the VIS.
Even though the regulation and decision establishing the VIS were adopted at first reading following an agreement between Parliament and the Council, it is true to say that if the present proposal has to go to a second reading this will run the risk of compromising the launch of the VIS in May 2009. It is therefore essential to reach a rapid overall compromise on this proposal.
Well, I am here, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, to confirm the Commission’s commitment to continuing the negotiations and discussions, particularly, of course, with your rapporteur Baroness Ludford, and also with the Council, in order to achieve a satisfactory compromise in the coming months. Once again, it seems to me that this compromise is something that is achievable, provided that the work is carried out thoroughly and that there is a sustained dialogue between the Council and Parliament, a dialogue which the Commission will obviously do its best to assist and encourage."@en1
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