Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-12-Speech-1-078"
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"en.20011112.7.1-078"2
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". – Mr President, as you would expect, I will concentrate on my own report, which deals with the establishment of joint investigation teams. I am very proud to be the rapporteur in an extremely innovative area, which has taken on great importance following the appalling events of 11 September. It is perhaps all the more important because we are trying to implement Article 13 of the EU Convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters which, although it was signed in May 2000, looks unlikely to be ratified for some time, making it vital that we have a legal framework in place as quickly as possible so that we can take these matters forward.
Joint investigation teams will allow two or more countries to join together for the purposes of investigating terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking and indeed other serious organised crime. This is an important venture which we must all support. A joint investigation team will take the talent and ability from different Member States and join them together for a purpose which is clearly defined and with a clear termination date, but in a way which will allow that expertise to work effectively and sharply in dealing with criminality and with bringing criminals to book. It will be a flexible instrument and one which we have been in need of for some time.
There have been concerns expressed, although not followed up in amendments, about the extent of participation in such teams. For instance, there have been references to the national criminal intelligence services of Member States. As a minister responsible in the United Kingdom for setting up our own national criminal intelligence service a few years ago, I am very confident that the make-up of these organisations in Member States is already well addressed. By giving those setting up the teams the discretion to determine their composition and to express objections when necessary, it seems to me that this point has been tackled very effectively. Although all the States concerned are signatories to our Human Rights Convention, I have nevertheless asked in this report that we draw particular attention to the need to protect and preserve human rights in the conduct of these teams.
Terrorism is uppermost in our minds at present. But trafficking in human beings is something else we should be deeply concerned about and something which these teams could perhaps help with. Only recently it has been revealed in the United Kingdom that there are hundreds, even thousands, of young children who have been sold into the slave trade from other parts of the world and are now in Europe suffering the most appalling treatment. There has been a case of this nature in the UK, and there has also been a recent case in Italy. The operation of joint investigation teams, say between Italy and ourselves, or with the participation of the French expertise in this area, would help to bring this sort of appalling offence to an end.
So the report does not concern just terrorism but these other matters too. Indeed it may also be possible to make a significant impact on a whole complex of issues currently of topical interest comprising fraud, money laundering and economic crime of that kind, if the talents and abilities of specific small teams able to operate in different countries can be brought to bear under the control of a single operation.
There is one further point. I have made quite clear in my report that it is important that all these operations should be under the clear parliamentary control of the European Parliament. Within the annual debate on the area of freedom, security and justice, this particular debate should go forward as well. We should be sure that we consider these operations carefully.
Finally, a lot of sensitive information may emerge as a result of this process. If something akin to a select committee were perhaps to be established to receive such confidential information, that could also help to boost confidence in the operation of these teams, which are a very important and significant development in crime prevention in the European Union."@en1
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