Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-19-Speech-4-407-000"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2012-04-19"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (debate)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20120419.18.4-407-000"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2012-04-19-Speech-4-408-0002
lpv:speaker	lp:Ashley Fox2
lpv:spoken text	"Madam President, I am proud that the United Kingdom was one of the founding members of the European Convention of Human Rights. This was designed to protect fundamental human rights – the right to life, the right not to be tortured and the right to a fair trial. The Convention has noble aims and my group supports them, but we do not support the conduct of the European Court of Human Rights. Far too often the Court departs from its role of upholding fundamental rights and interferes with how democratic governments govern themselves. The recent decision to prevent the UK deporting Abu Qatada is one example. The demand of the Court that prisoners be given the right to vote is another. Such judicial activism brings the Court into disrepute. It must be reformed, with most cases dealt with at national level and national courts given a greater margin of appreciation for making decisions. My group is committed to protecting human rights, but we do not believe that the EU should sign the Convention. Given that every Member State is already a signatory to the Convention, what benefit is there in the EU signing as well? It seems to me that the chief beneficiary is the EU itself, which gets to use its new legal identity granted by the Treaty of Lisbon. This is an opportunity for the EU to strut on the world stage and make very little difference to human rights – and what difference it does make will be negative. We will have two courts adjudicating within the EU, introducing competing jurisdictions which will only complicate matters. It also raises the issue of the EU itself having a role in any future reform of the Court of Human Rights. Involving the EU is a recipe for ensuring that no further reforms ever take place. I would urge colleagues here, and in Westminster, to think again before granting the EU more influence that we will live to regret."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; ECON (2012-01-19--2014-06-30)3 substitute; IMCO (2012-01-19--2014-06-30)3 member; Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3 unknown; Conservative Party (2009-07-14--2014-06-30)3 member_of_the_bureau; PECH (2011-03-09--2014-06-30)3 vice-chair; AFCO (2012-01-25--2014-06-30)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8))"1 "Ashley Fox,"1 "on behalf of the ECR Group."1
lpv:videoURI	<go to Events_and_structure europarl>2

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