Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-20-Speech-3-245"
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"en.20070620.24.3-245"2
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".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, undoubtedly we all agree on the principle by which people’s fundamental rights and freedoms can know no territorial borders. Unfortunately, organised crime and terrorism know no borders either. It is for this reason, as the rapporteur and the President-in-Office of the Council have said, that there is a growing link between the internal and international dimensions of European Union policies in the area of freedom, security and justice.
Finally, I would like to say a few words on Euro-Atlantic cooperation. As the President-in-Office of the Council has said, with the United States of America we have two sets of difficult negotiations in progress. One of these concerns the transfer of information on financial transactions, born out of the SWIFT affair, and the other concerns the transfer of information on passengers on flights to and from the United States. I hope that in both cases agreements can soon be reached guaranteeing both the certainty of our legal positions – therefore a European legal basis rather than reliance on bilateral relations – and a balance between the needs of the fight against terrorism and ensuring the confidentiality of personal data, both of which are key human rights. I hope that the United States will accept the balanced position that the German Presidency, with the Commission’s support, has tried to put across and that these agreements will be reached by the end of this month, before the German Presidency comes to an end.
I have briefed the Chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the status of the negotiations. There are aspects that cannot yet be made public because the negotiations are still in progress, but I have endeavoured to provide the Chairman and the parliamentary group coordinators within the committee with frequent updates on the outcome of the talks.
This means working together towards an important two-fold political objective: firstly, to strengthen an internal area of security guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms to citizens and residents of the European Union and a harmonisation of systems and rules to provide justice to those who need it, and secondly, to guarantee an international dimension that in some way provides an instrument for European Union foreign policy by strengthening the role of the law and the institutions, by promoting democratic values outside of our borders and by consolidating the institutions.
These are ambitious foreign policy objectives for the European Union, to be achieved through measures on security on the one hand and respect for fundamental freedoms and rights on the other. These two values can and must go hand in hand. As has been said, there can be no contradiction between guaranteeing security for citizens and all human beings, and at the same time guaranteeing respect for their fundamental freedoms. I believe that these common values must form the basis for our agreements, relations and partnerships with non-EU countries. When Europe plays a role on the international stage our policies must therefore include the promotion of human rights and democracy.
The report before us concerns fundamental matters that I fully support: improving democratic accountability, strengthening security and rights, guaranteeing citizens a higher level of protection against terrorism and organised crime, promoting cross-border cooperation among police forces and judicial authorities and developing an effective European Union immigration policy characterised by solidarity that must go beyond the borders of the European Union, a European asylum policy for those in need of international protection and a concerted effort to clamp down hard on people trafficking, which exploits the desperation of immigrants.
We are already part-way to achieving all this. European immigration policy is growing. Over the last few weeks I have put forward documents to Parliament and to the Council on opening up to economic migration and circular migration, promoting mobility and thus abandoning the solely repressive approach to migration policy, although it remains essential to combat all forms of illegality.
Just a few days ago I proposed a Green Paper on asylum policies, which will enable this Parliament and all interested parties to participate, so that by the beginning of next year I can present an action plan creating, as promised, a single European system on political refugee status by 2010.
There are thus many issues regarding immigration and asylum policies in which Europe already plays a role in the international arena. I believe that the Euro-Mediterranean dimension of Europe should be further strengthened in this area, just as Europe plays a part in the east, as regards the Balkans, the Caucasus and relations with the Russian Federation and Ukraine. We are already conducting activities in various sectors in this region, from people trafficking to the fight against the sexual exploitation of children and women and the fight against cybercrime, another issue that obviously knows no boundaries or borders and which must be tackled at international level.
Much has already been said on terrorism. Clearly, the fight against terrorism must continue using the means of the rule of law, but it is certainly necessary to pursue and improve international cooperation with the major world players.
For this reason, I very much welcome the fact that the rapporteur has highlighted the importance of decision-making processes that enable the European Union to make its own decisions. I very much welcome the reference to Article 42 of the Treaty, known as the ‘bridging clause’, but I believe that it is extremely important not to waste the opportunity presented by the next European Council to discuss the future institutional framework of the European Union and not to forget that, in the area of security, justice and fundamental freedoms, Europe cannot remain at a standstill. Europe must have the means to make decisions quickly, effectively and with greater democratic legitimacy, for example by assigning a greater role to this Parliament and to the European Union Court of Justice."@en1
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