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More Europe not less will help us achieve security
May 18, 2006 2:02 PM
By Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP in Barking and Dagenham Recorder
By Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP in Barking and Dagenham Recorder
Last week MPs, MEPs and EU officials met in Brussels to discuss the results of a big survey which asked 50,000 ordinary European citizens what they wanted from the EU. The results might surprise some of you.
Most people said they wanted "more Europe" to help them face the challenges of the modern world.
Top of the list of people's worries was security. In a climate of uncertainty and threat, 85% wanted greater EU-wide cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and 75% wanted to see greater EU efforts to stop organised crime.
My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have spent many years arguing that, in the field of justice and security, common problems need shared solutions. Indeed, some of the most effective weapons we have for tackling crime already come from the EU. The European Arrest Warrant, for example, was used to bring Hussain Osman, one of the suspects of the 21st July attempted bombings, quickly back from Rome to London where he is now on trial.
But we need more tools like this to fight terrorists and traffickers, as well as better ways for making sure they are the right ones. I'm pleased that out of last week's meeting came a plan to change the way that European laws are made. The plan is to give Euro-MPs - the democratically elected representatives of European citizens - an equal say with European governments. This will mean fewer decisions behind closed doors, and more open debate about when the EU needs to act (and when it should not).
The EU is by no means perfect, but nor is it the bureaucratic machine it is often made out to be. In listening to its citizens and meeting their needs, we can show that by working together we are stronger than any of us could ever be alone.
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