Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-17-Speech-3-308"
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"Madam President, I should like, at the same time as extending a very friendly welcome to Mrs Yade, to thank the rapporteur, Mr Catania, and the committee, but I shall return to the committee, Mr Deprez.
Lastly, as you emphasised, we now have a tool – the Agency for Fundamental Rights – the scope of which will be the subject of a review clause at the end of next year, as the Minister pointed out. It is true that thorough use should be made of these instruments.
Firstly – I am going to try to summarise – the Union should be beyond reproach where its legislative work is concerned. Systematic and rigorous monitoring of the compatibility of European legislation with the Charter of Fundamental Rights must be guaranteed.
In 2005, the Commission defined a method for checking the compliance of proposals, and we need to further strengthen the application, the use of this method. It is really important that we keep in mind respect for these fundamental rights throughout our legislative processes.
Then, of course, we need to intervene in the Member States when necessary. In this future Stockholm programme, I envisage clearly explaining the Commission’s policy on intervention. We can intervene in two ways under the competences laid down in the treaty.
Firstly, when applying Community legislation in a Member State creates a fundamental rights problem, the Commission will normally play its role of guardian of the Treaties, including by means of infringement proceedings. We shall have to see and, no doubt, list the situations in which such a fundamental rights violation specifically requires these infringement proceedings. I shall be particularly vigilant regarding respect for fundamental rights, and especially respect for the rights of the child, where the Member States, as I have already said, implement the Return Directive. I intervened in the project aimed at taking digital fingerprints in nomad camps in Italy in order to point out the need to respect Community law and fundamental rights, in particular the rules on personal data protection.
There are also situations in which we go beyond Community competences. These are political moves that may prove necessary in certain circumstances, where we do not have the option to use national mechanisms.
On the subject of secret CIA detentions, the Commission has spoken to Poland and Romania on several occasions to emphasise the need for investigations to be launched. Poland’s response was to inform the Commission that a criminal investigation had been opened. The Romanian Senate has conducted an investigation, which should be supplemented in order to take account of the Council of Europe’s second report.
I know that in your report, Mr Catania, you refer to the infamous Article 7, which is somewhat akin to nuclear deterrence, and you wonder why it has not been used. I was able to use it as a threat. It is true that, when I reminded Bulgaria that this journalism prize that had been awarded to a journalist known for his despicable remarks against the Roma really needed to be called into question, the journalist was ultimately stripped of the prize. However it is true that we also need to reflect on this use of Article 7.
Next, of course, we need to try to really move human rights forward in certain fields of crucial importance to the area in which we live together. The rights of the child – they concern the Union’s policies as a whole. However, this is, at the same time, an area in which real progress can be made. I would remind you that, in European asylum policy, we said that it was not possible to detain unaccompanied minors. In general, we have insisted that children receive special attention.
In the case of the Dublin II reform, we have emphasised the demands of family reunification. I am also grateful to the French Presidency for having encouraged us again to implement this rapid reaction mechanism which is vital in order to prevent child kidnappings. Next, in March 2009, I shall propose the review of a framework decision on the sexual exploitation of children, child pornography and the fight against trafficking in human beings.
The report that you have submitted is detailed and rich, as the Presidency pointed out. Mr Catania, fundamental rights are at the heart of European integration, and the Commission is obviously committed to promoting the rigorous respect of these rights in practice.
In terms of personal data protection, we need a global, renewed strategy that will encompass a review of Directive 95/46 on the basis of an assessment performed in the light of technological developments.
I have already spoken about the right to asylum. With regard to combating racism and xenophobia, obviously now that we have a text – I am grateful to the French Presidency for enabling us to have this text at last – we have to use it and we have to ensure that the economic crisis does not result in more xenophobia and racism, particularly among certain opinion formers. We will have to ensure that fundamental rights are genuinely respected in all areas relating to the fight against terrorism. The communication on racism and xenophobia could define ways of improving the effectiveness of the action in this area.
Lastly, in 2010, the Commission is due to submit a report on totalitarian crimes. The aim is to promote a culture of reconciliation specific to the European Union, a culture based on the recognition of crimes and victims, in order to end the divisions that exist between the new Member States and the old Member States, which are not always sufficiently aware of the tragic history of the former. This is a vast undertaking, a strategy that should do a great deal to ensure that the principles with which the European Union is endowed are implemented.
I would say to Mr Catania that we will obviously take from his report a whole series of ideas to flesh out the Stockholm programme.
I now come to Mr Deprez’s question. I wish to thank him and to tell him – I am also addressing the members of his committee here – that, for me, as the Commissioner responsible for freedom, security and justice, to have a committee that is demanding but that is also extremely attentive and involved in all these difficult problems, where the right balance must be struck between the clearly legitimate need for security and the option for freedoms and justice to realise their full potential, is a help and an opportunity.
It is true that progress has been made in the area of freedom, security and justice. Nevertheless, we are now – after Tampere, after the Hague – in charge of drawing up this multiannual Stockholm programme, and today it is too early for me to formulate precise ideas about the content of the next multiannual programme. I am just going to mention one or two points, and I apologise if I go on a little too long.
Firstly, showing respect for fundamental rights in practice within the Union must become a principle that underpins the entire multiannual programme.
Secondly, the individual must be at the centre of our action, whether it be a European citizen or a third-country national who resides on our territory. We need to build a Europe of results to benefit people. This Europe hinges on the safeguarding of their rights, on their security and on their protection, not least that of the most vulnerable, as victims are, and on guarantees of better access to justice.
I should like to thank Mrs Yade for having raised the issue of procedural rights. To my mind, this is a very important text. I am aware that there will be some reluctance to overcome, but, if we do indeed want to have mutual recognition of judicial decisions, it is crucial to ensure that justice is served throughout Europe with a number of procedural safeguards. That is absolutely crucial.
The European judicial area should obviously also make trade relations and the free movement of citizens simpler, but we must remember that we need to fight against crime and terrorism while acting in accordance with the rules of law. The European justice model will assert itself by means of balance and consistency after an effort is made to increase confidence and mutual recognition.
You stress in the report that there is still serious progress to be made where the Member States and the institutions are concerned. It is true that we need to do more to promote and apply fundamental rights within the Union. The Union must set an example, not only to make its external policy credible, but also to establish this mutual trust between the Member States, mutual trust that is crucial to making a real area of freedom, security and justice work.
Thirdly, the external dimension of the area of freedom, security and justice. This external dimension must be integrated into and added to the internal dimension. We cannot combat human trafficking without tackling the phenomena in countries in which trafficking often starts. Then, the whole immigration policy, the whole policy of coordinated management of migratory flows, is part of this idea of linking the external dimension and the internal dimension.
The Commission intends to present a communication on the future priorities in May 2009. Following that, there will be a political debate concerning the adoption of the third multiannual programme at the end of 2009. However, I must say – as I said this morning to the coordinators of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs – that we really do need the European Parliament in order to draw up this multiannual programme. I have no doubt that we will be able to count on your suggestions, on your proposals.
It is true that the area of freedom, security and justice has progressed, but it is also true that we are at the dawn, as it were, of this real judicial community in which people will be able to move about, within the European area and, at the same time, have their rights upheld, no matter which Member State they are in. This is very important if we truly want the concept of European citizenship to find concrete expression in the lives of European citizens.
There is still a great deal to do, this is a very exciting task, and I should like once again to thank the European Parliament, and particularly its Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, for their assistance, which they provide with such enthusiasm and conviction.
Your report makes important recommendations, and we agree with you that it is vital to do more to monitor the compliance of legislative proposals resulting from the Charter, to improve the reception conditions of migrants and asylum seekers, to ensure that the fight against terrorism is conducted fully in compliance with fundamental rights, to redouble our efforts to combat discrimination, to improve the situation of the Roma throughout the European Union and, I would also add, to cooperate more closely with the Council of Europe. I fully intend to commit myself personally to this.
The recommendations and the legitimate criticisms should not, however, obscure the genuine progress that the Commission and the European Union have made in promoting fundamental rights, as Mrs Yade said just now. This progress includes the recent adoption by the Council of the framework decision on racism and xenophobia and the adoption of the framework decision on the protection of data in the third pillar, even if this is regarded merely as a first step.
The Commission has recently proposed a new law on the right to asylum, which is inspired by the will to promote a high level of protection. I have reminded the Member States of the obligation to respect fundamental rights when they transpose the Directive on the return of illegal immigrants, and I shall be monitoring this.
The new proposal for a directive on protection from discrimination beyond the workplace is going to supplement our raft of legislative measures. Gender equality, an area that the European Union has strived to be at the forefront of, has been the subject of a Commission proposal to improve people’s work-life balance by increasing the minimum length of maternity leave.
Of course, ladies and gentlemen, we need to ensure that we include fundamental rights in our texts, but we also need to check how these rights are applied in practice. The task is very important, and in order to successfully complete it, we need to implement a genuine strategy to ensure respect for fundamental rights within the European Union. The future multiannual programme, the Stockholm programme, should, in my view, include a communication that defines this policy of respect for fundamental rights within the Union, with a clear explanation of the possibilities and the limits of the Commission’s action in this area.
We need to make fundamental rights as practical as possible. There is no use in inventing new laws all the time. I would say that the basic regulatory framework is there: the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. We now have some information on the violation of fundamental rights, provided by the Council of Europe."@en1
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