Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-17-Speech-3-307"
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the Catania report is a remarkable piece of work that provides a very broad overview of the situation of human rights in the European Union. It contains a great many very useful recommendations, which relate both to institutional aspects and to practical aspects of human rights. Some of these recommendations concern the Commission, and I shall let it answer for itself.
This is a very pertinent question, and I myself keep repeating that we need to put our own house in order so as to enhance our credibility outside the EU in the area of human rights. Our human rights approach must be characterised by its boldness but also by its modesty. It is only by bearing in mind the indivisibility of human rights that we will have a greater chance of being heard outside.
Some of you also spoke of the awarding of the Sakharov Prize to Hu Jia, which I am very pleased about, of course. I welcome the honour that has been bestowed on this Chinese blogger, who has the European Parliament’s support. I think it is excellent. I myself have been very involved in the cause of defending Hu Jia, and I hope that this Sakharov Prize will enable progress to be made in the field of human rights, particularly in China.
I should like to return to the issues that you raised, Mr Deprez, and perhaps start by telling you that the Council has committed itself throughout the past year to cooperating very closely with the European Parliament, as I said just now. A very rich dialogue has been conducted with the European Parliament and, in particular, with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, on the texts that could or should be adopted as a priority, the institutional calendar permitting.
The Presidency has urged the Member States to ratify, and this has enabled the work within national parliaments to be sped up and a number of texts, including some essential ones, to be adopted.
By the end of this parliamentary term, we hope to see important texts such as the one on the communitisation of Europol and the evidence warrant brought to a successful conclusion. Taken as a whole, these texts should enable us to carry out a significant assessment of the European Union in respect of these issues.
You may have also seen that the Presidency has carried out or greatly advanced many initiatives that this House had included among its priorities.
With regard to the third pillar, in particular, the Presidency has committed itself to making codecision work fully in the areas of immigration and justice or civil justice. As you know, regarding negotiations with third countries, it has defended the idea that future negotiations on the exchange of data with the United States should take place only with the European Parliament, and this has not been easy.
The latter represent important advances in these areas, but advances that could be even more significant should the Community method be applied to the sectors of the area of freedom, security and justice coming under the third pillar.
Protecting fundamental rights in what is precisely a European area of freedom, security and justice is, in fact, an on-going challenge and, like you, I believe that it is specifically through the protection of fundamental rights that developments in the area of freedom, security and justice should be interpreted.
Obviously I can only confirm to you the Council’s will to work along these lines, and we can register our agreement with most of the points you have raised, while bearing in mind our institutional context.
I shall perhaps focus on certain points that have been raised. I am thinking, for example, of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. The European Agency is criticised for having a limited sphere of competence, since it is limited to the first of the three pillars of the European Union. I think it is worth pointing out in this regard that, on the one hand, there is a clause for reviewing the Agency’s remit, before 31 December 2009. The clause permits a possible extension of the Agency’s competences to the third pillar on the basis of a Commission proposal.
In terms of relaunching the proposal relating to the protection of procedural rights within the context of criminal proceedings, an action plan on the protection of persons within the context of criminal proceedings should be debated next year, and an assessment of the European arrest warrant will take place so that the framework decision can be implemented consistently. Furthermore, the Treaty of Lisbon, should it come into force, will give fresh impetus to this process, not only by making the Charter of Fundamental Rights binding, but also as a result of the institutional developments that the new treaty will permit in the area of freedom, security and justice.
One could mention many other issues raised by the report and by the MEPs over the past few months. I think that, on this point too, we could take matters further after the debate. Before that, I shall perhaps let Mr Barrot – is it my job to say this, Madam President? – take over the floor.
On the other hand, the option is given to any European institution or to any Member State voluntarily to receive opinions from the Agency, with the competences of the different parties being taken into account. In this context, for the first time, on 3 September, the Council, via the French Presidency, requested the Agency’s opinion on the proposal for a framework decision on the use of passenger data by the law enforcement authorities of the Member States, something which comes under the third pillar of the European Union.
The Council has therefore sought to demonstrate the particular importance it attaches to the issue of human rights.
Next, I should like to raise the issue of migrants and refugees. A great many proposals have been made, measures have been incorporated into the report, in the field of migration, and I can only reiterate that the European Pact on Asylum and Immigration indicates that the European Council solemnly states that migration policies and asylum must comply with the rules of international law and, in particular, with those relating to human rights, human dignity and refugees.
I should like to mention a third point addressed by the report, which this time concerns the rights of the child. How could one fail to agree with your conclusions in so far as they concern the condemnation of all forms of violence against children, the elimination of child labour, the paying of attention to Romani children and the provision of assistance for children? I note that the report considers that the detention of young offenders should only be a measure of last resort and that alternative measures do exist.
Many other points are emphasised in this report, and I cannot go over them all. However, I should like to conclude on a very positive note, which I am particularly pleased about, and point out that the framework decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law, to which the report refers, was formally adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 28 November 2008, after seven years of extended debate.
In response to Mr Deprez, I am going to start by thanking you for the congratulations you have extended to the French Presidency of the European Union. Please believe me when I say that we are deeply moved by this. President Sarkozy has sought to demonstrate by this, by his work, and by the management of a presidency that was ultimately a presidency of crisis, as exemplified by the Georgian crisis and the financial crisis, that political Europe is back. We are very touched by your welcome, and we should also like to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the very close cooperation that has united us during the French Presidency of the last few months.
Before addressing the issues you have raised, I should like to start by saying two things. The first is that I am very sensitive to the issue of double standards that several of you have raised. It is true that one might wonder whether it is ultimately possible for human rights to be defended abroad, outside Europe’s borders, when less attention is paid to the situation within Europe’s borders themselves, as is sometimes suspected of being the case."@en1
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