Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-23-Speech-2-012"
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"en.20080923.4.2-012"2
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Mr President, obviously I welcome the President-in-Office, Mr Jouyet, and also our two rapporteurs, who have done a remarkable job. Mrs Lefrançois has reported on the proposal for the amendment of the framework decision on combating terrorism, and Mrs Roure has reported on the framework decision on the protection of personal data. Obviously I also thank the Council Presidency. The comments made by Mr Jouyet should demonstrate the Presidency’s concern to bring the differing points of view closer together.
I will now move on to the desire to exclude any obligation to criminalise an attempt to commit an offence. We agree on this. The Commission’s proposal already guaranteed the exclusion of this obligation and the Council’s common position of 18 April 2008 did so too.
What I would also like to say is that, as regards the jurisdictional rules applicable to the new offences, we largely – but not totally – agree with the modifications proposed in the report. The Commission can therefore accept the elimination of the additional jurisdictional rules it had included in its proposal.
However, the Commission does not share the report’s view as regards the existing jurisdictional rules in the current framework decision, because this would be like imposing a limitation in relation to the new offences. The amendment proposed in the report removes the obligation on a Member State to pursue new offences when they are committed outside the territory of this Member State but on behalf of a legal person established on its territory, or against its institutions or population, or against a European institution with its headquarters in the Member State concerned. We are afraid that removing this obligation of pursuit by the Member State in question will limit the effectiveness of the Commission proposal because the new offences are very often transnational, particularly when they are committed via the Internet.
The Commission hopes, however, that the evolution of this dossier will above all allow the entry into force of the amended framework decision in the very near future. Updating our legislation is truly worth all our effort and I thank both Parliament and the Presidency for doing all they can to achieve this result. We do need this new tool.
I now come to the report by Mrs Roure who, in her very strong defence, has made a firm case for Parliament’s wish to have a meaningful framework decision that opens the way for further progress. The framework decision must indeed promote police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters by giving it the effectiveness conferred by genuine legitimacy and by respect for fundamental rights, particularly the right to respect for private life and the right to the protection of personal data. Common rules for the processing and protection of personal data, processed with the aim of preventing and fighting crime, can help to achieve these two objectives.
Mr Jouyet, it will not surprise you to learn that the Commission is disappointed with the rather limited scope of the framework decision. We intended to go further, but I know the current Presidency largely shares this view. The text of the framework decision now covers only cross-border exchanges of personal data, and that is why we wanted to go further. Meanwhile, the processing of personal data by these authorities at national level is not being harmonised at European level. These activities will still be covered at national level by national data protection legislation. It is quite true, Mrs Roure, that the Member States have all acceded to the Council of Europe Convention 108 on data protection. Nevertheless, I am among those who think we should go further.
The subsequent evaluation of the application of the framework decision, to which Mr Jouyet referred, is obviously one way of reviewing the application of the rules in the framework decision, and also of checking that the principles of purpose limitation and proportionality, which you were quite right to mention and are essential in this area, are indeed being respected. It is true that a revision, an evaluation clause, would, in the light of the assessment made by the Member States, certainly make it possible to extend the scope of this data protection.
What is certain, and there is no need for me to insist on this, since the Presidency has just alluded to it, is that the text will be important not only for Europeans but also in our negotiations with third countries. We will be in a much stronger position, particularly in negotiations with the United States
which I have not lost sight of
if we can lay claim to a data protection measure that truly responds to the needs and expectations of our citizens. That is why I hope the Council will push on with this dossier and we can reach agreement. This is a first step, Mr Jouyet, but this step still needs to be sufficiently significant. That is my wish.
In any case, Mr President, I will be pleased if these two proposals and two reports
which are of great interest and value as far as the Commission is concerned
enable us to reach an agreement, which I would really like to happen.
I will try to be brief, Mr President, because we are expecting a very interesting debate this morning before Parliament. First I will talk about the proposal for a framework decision on combating terrorism. As the President-in-Office quite rightly said, modern information and communication technologies play an important role in propagating the terrorist threat. The Internet, which is cheap, quick, easily accessible and reaches almost all over the world, is indeed used by terrorists.
The advantages of the Internet appreciated by law-abiding citizens are unfortunately exploited for criminal purposes. Terrorists use the Internet to spread propaganda for mobilisation and recruitment purposes, as well as instructions and online manuals for training terrorists or planning attacks. Preventing this threat is obviously a political priority. The European Union must combat modern terrorism and its new methods with the same degree of determination that it demonstrated in combating traditional terrorism.
The proposal prepared by the Commission updates the framework decision on combating terrorism and aligns it with the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism by including, in the concept of terrorism, public provocation to commit terrorist offences and recruitment and training for terrorism.
The Commission is pleased with the positive reception that Mrs Lefrançois’s report has received, which underlines the added value of the proposal. However, Mrs Lefrançois, you have also expressed concerns about the proposal, and the wish for a number of amendments.
I am going to try to respond briefly. Firstly, your report challenges the use of the expression ‘public provocation’ and you clearly indicated that you felt the term ‘public incitement’ was more precise. It is a fact, however, that the Commission’s proposal is based on the Council of Europe Convention and very closely follows the definitions of offences in the Convention, for two reasons.
Firstly, we wanted to take account of the Council of Europe’s unparalleled expertise in human rights, and the work done by the Council in drawing up the text of the Convention that we are discussing. The Convention is also based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights as regards freedom of expression.
Secondly, the Commission wanted to make it easier for the Member States to implement both the modification of the framework decision and the Council of Europe Convention. Would different terminology not make application slightly complicated? That is the question I want to put to you.
As regards the second point raised in the report, the Commission supports your idea of incorporating into the amending text safeguard clauses on human rights equivalent to those in Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism. Actually, Mr Jouyet, the Council’s common position of 18 April 2008 already contains extra safeguard clauses parallel to those in Article 12."@en1
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