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EU Justice & Security: 'Could do Better'
February 12, 2003 12:00 AM
The Council and Commission are being asked today (12th February) to account for their record in 2002 in the field of justice and home affairs. European Liberal spokeswoman Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP is putting the charge of lack of balance, coherence and democratic accountability.
Speaking as the European Parliament's author of the annual review of progress in freedom, security and justice she says:
'A common legal area is a key EU goal, and citizens expect the Union to take effective action both to guarantee their rights and to address the threats to their freedom posed by terrorism and serious crime.'
"That balance has not been achieved, with the failure to get in place safeguards for fair trials to accompany the European Arrest Warrant, and the lack of EU data protection laws governing law enforcement allowing intrusive proposals to snoop on telephone calls and emails.'
Referring to enlargement and the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe she is asking for reforms to get more effective and more democratic decsions:
"We need an overhaul of the current legislative system for justice and home affairs so that through qualified majority voting we get faster progress and through co-decision for the European Parliament and input from national parliaments we get full democratic scrutiny, including of bodies like Europol."
On asylum and immigration policy she charges the Council with being slow and inconsistent:
"It is over three years since the special EU summit on justice matters set the goal of a common asylum & immigration policy. Yet the main building blocks are still not in place for achieving a level playing-field, sharing responsibility and integrating legal migrants. It is time rhetoric turned into action."
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