Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-14-Speech-2-076"
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"en.20101214.7.2-076"2
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"Madam President, let me start by recalling that this is indeed an historic text we will adopt today – hopefully – in the vote in a few minutes.
This is the first EU criminal law instrument after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. I think we can be satisfied with the agreement that we have today.
It is a balanced compromise between the institutions. I am aware, of course, that Parliament, as represented by the rapporteurs, and the Commission would have preferred some different phrasing in some paragraphs. Globally, however, this is a good result which is fully in line with the objectives of Parliament, of the Council and of the Commission, namely, to fight human trafficking, this horrible modern slavery, this horrible crime which is not worthy of Europe in 2010 and which is a grave violation of the fundamental rights of so many citizens.
I have met some of these victims: children, men and many women in the sexual slavery business. Their stories are, of course, horrible. Today, when this directive is adopted, we will have a better tool to help them. This is, indeed, a good Christmas present.
I would really like to thank Parliament, in particular, the two rapporteurs, Ms Bauer and Ms Hedh, the shadow rapporteurs and all the others who made it possible to reach an agreement.
There are several examples of the European Parliament helping to improve the directive. I would note the specific provision concerning the status and rights of unaccompanied minors who are victims of trafficking in Article 14. That was introduced at your request, and we agree that this made the directive better. There are other examples as well.
I would like to mention one point where I regret that the Commission proposal was not supported by the Council, although we had your support. However, it was not possible to reach an agreement in the Council regarding extraterritorial jurisdiction for offences committed abroad by habitual residents of the EU.
I still believe that a provision guaranteeing that all persons living with us in Europe who commit trafficking offences in other countries could be prosecuted in the EU would have added considerable value. However, it was not possible. The issue will be back again when we deal with the directive on child exploitation and child pornography. Extraterritorial jurisdiction for habitual residents will be even more important when we discuss the possibilities of bringing paedophile sex tourists who live in Europe to justice.
I believe that we should together continue, in talks with the Council, to insist that such a provision should be included in the directive. As I said, we have all done very good work together. Today, we have a very important tool to fight trafficking, protect victims, and make sure that we send the message that this is a very severe crime. It should be punished accordingly and it is now defined in the same way in all Member States. Again, thank you for your contribution."@en1
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