Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-16-Speech-4-182"
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"en.19991216.8.4-182"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Commission unreservedly supports the purpose of the motion being discussed here and considers the European Parliament’s initiative to be beneficial and useful because we too take the view that further important steps are needed if the international criminal court is ever to get off the ground. The Commission welcomes the fact that more and more contracting parties are signing the statute decided in Rome and that some at least have already ratified it. However, to be fair, we should point out that, in numerous cases the constitutions of some signatory States, including some Member States, prohibit the extradition of their own citizens and constitutional amendments are therefore needed before this agreement can be ratified. This applies, for example, to Germany and that is the reason for the delay.
I am more than willing, Mrs Thors, to bring applicant countries’ attention to the need for them to sign and ratify this agreement, but I think that Mr Posselt was right when he said that my position on this matter would be more credible if all 15 had already ratified it. Ratification and proper transposition of the Rome statute into national law is an important task. The EU is aware of the complex issues which surround it. I have already referred to the constitutional problems and we are prepared to share our experience with ratification procedures and the relevant know-how with interested states.
The Member States of the EU have already offered the other States financial and technical assistance in ratifying the statute and they stand by that offer. The Member States of the Union and the European Commission have also taken, or are supporting, a series of other initiatives to promote the statute. We also appreciate the important contribution made in this area by non-governmental organisations, who are devoting themselves to raising awareness of the Rome statute and its imminent ratification.
The Member States of the European Union and the European Commission have proven their commitment to furthering international criminal justice by working closely with the war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia and supporting them strongly. We are stepping up our willingness to examine how we can contribute to the future work of the international criminal court through cooperation, aid and support in all areas. The Commission shares the view put forward in the debate here that this criminal court will not, under any circumstances, have a purely symbolic significance but that it can have a direct, preventative effect and will help to ensure that perhaps the most horrific crimes will no longer be committed in the future."@en1
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