Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-029"
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"en.20000314.3.2-029"2
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"Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, European internal policy forms only a small, but still very important part of the submission Mr Prodi has presented to us, both in writing and orally. But then it is not quantity but quality that matters where submissions are concerned.
Now last night, in the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, to his credit, Commissioner Vitorino made a presentation on behalf of the Commission about a “scoreboard”, i.e. a schedule with competence assignment and task descriptions for creating the area of freedom, security and justice. On close inspection of this document, it soon becomes apparent that in the course of the year 2000, the Commission is to make a start on its proposals for this area of freedom, security and justice – it is to be hoped, with the support of the majority of the European Parliament – and will enter into direct confrontation with the Council over its proposals for creating this area of freedom, security and justice. This open confrontation will come about because the European Union is doing the following: it is dismantling external and internal borders. It is creating freedom of movement and freedom to settle, and an economic area which affords opportunities for unlimited economic activity – and thus also for unlimited illegal economic activity incidentally. In order to combat this, the EU aims, in turn, to create a European police force. The EU has a single currency and is creating all the institutions it can, so as to equip the European Economic Area with a legal framework.
Now we come to the crunch question: how is the EU to achieve this? Is it to manage the economy exclusively on the basis of Community law, and the regulatory framework in the sphere of security exclusively at intergovernmental level? The two do not go together. To have both approaches would be to produce the kind of legally inconsistent system that can actually only lead to one thing, as has always been the case, i.e. paralysis.
And so the ball is in the Commission’s court. I can promise you the full backing of my group if the Commission stands up to the Council over matters that must inevitably, and necessarily, be brought within the Community system, and matters in the sphere of internal security and citizens’ fundamental freedoms – I am referring to the Charter of Fundamental Rights – that are inevitably bound up with the transfer of sovereignty rights from national to European level, which is precisely what the Commission, the Council and Parliament are in conflict over. If the Commission has the courage to say that it is prepared to enter into a confrontation with the Council, as the guardian of the Treaties and the future integration of Europe, then I would hope that a majority of this Parliament would support you in this. But you will need to have courage to go down this route and I hope you find it."@en1
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