Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-01-Speech-1-069"
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"en.20080901.17.1-069"2
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"Madam President, when our Prime Ministers’ meeting almost a decade ago in Tampere set out the main guidelines for EU criminal justice policy, they rightly stressed that European citizens had the right to expect the Union to ensure there was no hiding place for criminals. That is why European Liberal Democrats have consistently supported measures like the European arrest warrant, unlike British Conservatives who spout hot air on law and order but oppose EU cooperation instruments.
Those measures also explain the justification for strengthening the ability of national prosecutors to work together in Eurojust and bring major criminals to justice. It is legitimate to ensure that they are available around the clock and to give them more powers to get their decisions implemented, like issuing search and seizure warrants in their own Member States and accessing their own national criminal databases.
There is also certainly scope for clarifying and streamlining the rules on when judgments delivered
without the presence of the accused will be recognised, but this must not shade into lazy habits of not trying hard enough to inform the defendant. I would not want every Member State to copy the worrying Italian volume of
trials.
When I questioned the Commission a few months ago, it stressed that the initiative was balanced, increasing the fundamental rights of citizens while also enhancing the principle of mutual recognition. But bodies like the European Criminal Bar Association, the Council of Bars and Law Societies, and Fair Trials International have all expressed fears at weak safeguards for defendants.
The presidency minister stressed and promised that the Council would consider Parliament’s amendments with attention. I am sure she means well, but my response is: big deal. Directly-elected MEPs are marginalised in decisions on EU law as regards cross-border justice. Until we get the Treaty of Lisbon into force those laws are largely decided by national civil servants and that is a big part of the reason why the second part of the 10-year-old deal, which promised to raise justice standards in Member States like good data protection rules and to strengthen defendants’ rights like legal aid, translation and bail, have not been kept. Until we get a democratic instead of a technocratic EU justice policy, one truly balanced between catching criminals and guaranteeing fair trials, support for the measures discussed now must be qualified."@en1
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