Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-03-Speech-2-043"
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"en.20030603.2.2-043"2
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"Mr President, my group has grave concerns about the agreement that the Council wishes to conclude with the United States. Problems arising as a result of greater police and judicial cooperation are being glossed over for political reasons. Greater cooperation does of course enable us to catch wrongdoers more effectively, and that is a good thing. However, this cooperation has to be subject to strict conditions regarding the rights of suspects, because, otherwise, people’s trust in the authorities is undermined. We must make sure that we do not shoot great holes in our rule of law in order to please the Wild West.
My concerns regarding the legal system of the United States extend beyond excrescences such as the death penalty and Guantánamo Bay. My concerns go to the heart of the US system. Upwards of 92% of all convictions are based on plea bargains. This means that, in more than 92% of cases, evidence is not examined, but, rather, punishments are negotiated with suspects driven by the fear of absurdly severe sentences. That is not a fair process, and indeed I welcome the reference in the resolution to the European Convention on Human Rights, because that prescribes a fair process.
Another positive aspect of the report by Mr Hernández Mollar is that it emphasises that there are alternatives to the extradition of European nationals to the United States, particularly with regard to crimes committed on European soil. The United States just passes the evidence against a suspect on to the competent EU Member State, then we can try our citizens according to our own traditions, with our own guarantees, and people can serve their time close to home. That is what I would call a testament to constructive cooperation between equal partners."@en1
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