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EU-US Anti-Terrorism Agreement
September 12, 2002 12:00 AM
EU Justice and Home Affairs ministers must demonstrate that they are committed as much to democracy and human rights as they are to the legitimate needs of law enforcement when they meet in Copenhagen this weekend - including in their dealings with the US over the International Criminal Court.
Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on Justice & Home Affairs, has strongly voiced her concerns to the Danish Presidency on the EU-US agreement on legal assistance and extradition to be discussed with US Attorney General John Ashcroft.
"It is unacceptable to have a total democratic deficit by excluding the European and national parliaments from the secret drawing up of an agreement which will refer to crucial matters like breaching data privacy, exchange of information on bank accounts, fair trial guarantees, application of the death penalty to extradited defendants, and 'profiling' of potential terrorists."
"I also call on David Blunkett to send an insistent message to Jack Straw that the European Union must stand firm and united against American attempts to weaken the International Criminal Court through bilateral immunity agreements."
"Justice & home affairs ministers have fallen into the habit of concentrating almost exclusively on security and fighting crime. Vital as that is, they must not forget they are also justice ministers, and Liberal Democrats expect a loud voice from them in support of openness and liberty."
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