Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-23-Speech-2-042"
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"en.20080923.4.2-042"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, there is no doubt at all that we have to continue fighting terrorism with every resolve. I therefore specifically welcome the fact that we are continuing to develop the necessary instruments and adapting them to the insights we have gained. One thing must be clear, however: we can win this battle only on the basis of the rule of law. Abandoning laws and morals only strengthens, not weakens, terrorism. The actions of the Bush administration have shown us this quite plainly. Europe can lead by example here.
The safety and freedom of the general public are always connected to the freedom of the individual, however. You only have to look at the Basque region, for example. People live in fear and terror, as walking the streets or visiting the wrong bar can have fatal consequences. It is our job to protect our citizens from such threats. Restrictions on other personal freedoms are occasionally necessary in order to do this. Our citizens have to be able to trust that these restrictions are also appropriate, however, and that their data are not being distributed throughout the world by the intelligence services. In short: our citizens ought not to have to open their eyes one day and discover that Orwell’s visions are no longer a Utopia. That is exactly what this is about: guaranteeing the safety of life and limb without destroying privacy.
At this point I should like to thank both my colleagues, who have submitted two excellent reports here. Both make it clear that we are calling for greater efforts by the Council to protect fundamental rights, that we want greater care to be taken and better protection to be afforded when handling personal data. We shall give our full and total support to the Council for all meaningful and appropriate measures to combat terrorism.
The Socialist Group in the European Parliament will always see to it that all citizens can feel safe, whether on the street, at major events or in their home. Freedom is too precious an asset to have it destroyed, no matter by which side. We know this well enough from our own painful history in Europe."@en1
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