Speech Vitorino voor politiecongres: "Veiligheid in de Unie na de uitbreiding"
Minister Schily,
Minister Buß,
Minister Mihajlovic,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I have come to Bonn/Bad Godesberg today to participate at the 7th European Police Congress. This conference offers us a unique opportunity to discuss what is one of the most important and pressing issues for our citizens across the European Union: how can we work together to enhance security.
Five years ago the European Treaty of Amsterdam for the first time established the objective to maintain the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice; an area in which the free movement of persons is assured in conjunction with adequate measures to prevent and combat crime. Indeed people living in Europe have the right to expect the Union to address the threat to their freedom and legal rights posed by serious crime. Given the transnational dimension of crime, national governments alone can no longer act in isolation. To counter these threats a common effort is needed, a joint mobilisation of the police and the judiciary to guarantee that there is no hiding place for criminals or the proceeds of crime within the Union.
I would like to outline a number of measures that we have taken since the year 1999 in order to respond to terrorism and other security threats, in both the old and new Member States of the European Union. Let me start first and foremost by quoting the European Police Office, EUROPOL. This body has a vital part to play, in gathering and exchanging information between Member States, and also in preparing joint threat assessments. Since EUROPOL became fully operational in 1999, its mandate has been extended to comprise practically every form of serious international crime. In response to the horrific terrorist attacks of September 2001, a special Counter-terrorism Task Force was created within EUROPOL and its mandate extended to include this type of activity as part of EUROPOL's structural work. In November 2002, the Council adopted a Protocol which, once ratified, will open the possibility for EUROPOL to participate in Member States' joint investigation teams, and to request the competent authorities of the Member States to start or co-ordinate criminal investigations in specific cases.
This is a very much welcomed and encouraging development. I, however, strongly believe that there is room for manoeuvre to strengthen EUROPOL's capabilities. The Europol Information System must become operational and Europol be given access to other major law-enforcement information systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Customs Information System (CIS) and the Customs Files Identification Database (FIDE). I do not believe that a new instrument is needed in the short term to improve the functioning of EUROPOL, but Member States should fully implement and exploit the existing instruments. It is clear that Europol's effectiveness is directly dependent on the degree of trust accorded to it by Member States. In this respect, the length of time taken to ratify the instruments concerned and the degree of information transmitted by the Member States to Europol are a signal that there is a real need to increase this trust.
In 2002 EUROPOL was given a judicial equivalent, EUROJUST, an independent body with legal personality, composed of magistrates, prosecutors or police officers from each Member State.
EUROJUST's objectives are to improve the co-ordination of investigations and prosecutions in the Member States, to facilitate the execution of international mutual assistance and extradition requests, and to support investigations of the competent authorities of Member States. Like EUROPOL, EUROJUST is based in The Hague. I am very much encouraged by the progress both institutions make in working together.
Let me also quote the European Police College CEPOL, one of the achievements of the Tampere European Council to foster police co-operation. Compared to EUROPOL, CEPOL covers a different, albeit equally important aspect: training of senior police officers of the Member States. CEPOL's aim is to develop a joint approach to the main problems facing Member States in the fight against crime, crime prevention, and the maintenance of law and order and public security. For the time being CEPOL is still a network of national police training institutes, but this will hopefully change soon. Following the Brussels European Council of December 2003 CEPOL shall have its permanent seat in the United Kingdom. The Justice and Home Affairs Council is currently examining two initiatives which will provide CEPOL with legal personality and establish its permanent seat. The European Commission is very much looking forward to the adoption of this initiatives with a view to render CEPOL more operational in the near future.
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The terrorist acts of 11 September 2001 accelerated the pace of cooperation in criminal matters in the EU. A comprehensive EU Action Plan to fight terrorism was adopted, and a range of instruments put forward. Shortly after the attacks, the Commission issued a proposal for a European Arrest Warrant to replace lengthy extradition procedures of suspected terrorists or criminals throughout the Union by a simple system of surrender between judicial authorities. On 1 January this year the European Arrest Warrant entered into force in eight countries of the Union, while seven have unfortunately failed to meet the implementation deadline of 31 December 2003. I remain confident that these countries will undertake any effort to implement the instrument urgently.
The EU Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism establishes a common EU definition of what is meant by a terrorist offence, and also sets common minimum sentences. Common definitions and common sanctions will facilitate police and judicial cooperation and ensure that all legal systems within the EU are equally severe in punishing terrorists and repressing terrorist acts. In November 2002, a Council Decision establishing a mechanism for evaluating the legal systems and their implementation at national level in the fight against terrorism was adopted. The first round of evaluations includes the ten accession states and three candidate countries and shows encouraging results.
The ability to deprive terrorist and organised criminals of funds is an integral part of any comprehensive security strategy. We have been working hard on this at European level notably with the adoption of the Framework Decision on Freezing Assets and Evidence. Through this instrument, freezing orders will have to be authorised by a judicial authority and subject to applicable safeguards under national legislation, but will then by executed immediately without the delay inherent in traditional mutual assistance regimes.
A whole range of instruments is now in place to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of criminal activities by the law-enforcement agencies of the Member States across the EU.
The main elements relating to the operational functioning of an EU security cooperation system are in place and have started to produce results. This in itself is a small revolution compared to the times before the Treaty of Amsterdam.
Despite the progress achieved so far, more needs to be done in order to fight cross-border crime more effectively in the EU. The existing instruments must be put to good use. Of course their effectiveness can only be guaranteed if they are promptly and fully implemented at national level! Other aspects of law-enforcement cooperation at EU level need to be improved in order to increase effectiveness in the fight against international crime. Obstacles to cross-border pursuit and surveillance by law-enforcement agents of the EU Member States should be removed, while still respecting the necessary safeguards for individual liberty and the right to privacy. Cooperation among different law-enforcement agencies at national level must be ensured, as must cooperation between customs and police in relevant areas, such as drugs trafficking or product counterfeiting. The role of the Task Force of EU Police Chiefs in the organisation of operational cooperation must be enhanced. Moves towards the application of common curricula for police training should be encouraged.
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Falling frontiers between the European Union Member States requires at the same time to reinforce security at the Union's external borders. Key among these measures is the requirement that Member States with an external EU-border have a responsibility to ensure that proper checks and effective surveillance are carried out. A common and integrated policy for the management of the external borders, which contributes inter alia to the fight against trafficking in human beings and illegal immigration, was the overall ambition of the Commission's Communication of May 2002 on integrated management of the external borders. The European Councils of Laeken and Seville as well as the comprehensive Council's plan to combat illegal immigration and trafficking of human beings have given high priority to the establishment of a common Visa Information System (VIS). The objectives of the VIS as set out in the Council guidelines are in particular to facilitate the fight against fraud, to contribute to the prevention of "visa shopping" and to contribute towards internal security and combating terrorism. The Commission is currently preparing the legal instrument to put VIS in place. In addition the Commission proposed in November 2003 the establishment of a European Agency for the Management of external borders. The objective of this Agency is to better co-ordinating the operational co-operation between the Member States. I firmly believe that the Agency constitutes a concrete and important step towards achieving solidarity between Member States in the field of the management of the external borders.
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In May this year, the EU will welcome ten new members. The enlargement presents us with both new challenges and new opportunities. For the time being many citizens in the Union fear the consequences that enlargement might have on security. It is important to confront these fears with reasoned arguments. The enlargement process has emphasised the new Members' ability to play their part in the building of the stability concept of the Union. Considerable funds have been made available through the programme of pre-accession assistance for helping these countries to prepare their economy and institutional structures to join the EU.
More specifically in the Justice and Home Affairs area, financial and technical assistance, particularly through Phare Twinning, was provided for numerous activities to enhance security and trust: training border police, reforming police structures, enhancing capacities to fight organised crime, judicial reforms, measures improving the ability to combat money laundering and financial crime are just some examples in this respect.
Work will be far from over with the conclusion of accession negotiations. The years 2002 and 2003 saw a wide range of monitoring and assisting mechanisms to be established. A special Justice and Home Affairs monitoring mechanism provides an exact overview of the progress made by the acceding countries in meeting their commitments. Member States have endorsed this process and follow it closely.
Many Phare projects will also continue to build JHA capacities in acceding countries until 2006. Via the Transition Facility the Commission will provide 380 million Euro in the period 2004-2006 to the new member states to reinforce their administrative capacity to implement and enforce the acquis. Justice and Home Affairs is already one of the priority sectors under this institution-building facility, notably with regard to the judicial system, external border controls, anti corruption and law-enforcement capacities.
A so-called Schengen Facility of 858 M € for 2004-2006 has also been established to help seven of the new Member States to finance actions at the new external borders of the Union for the implementation of the Schengen acquis and external border control. We are in the process of establishing guidelines to help the beneficiary countries to identify eligible actions.
Finally, at the moment when enlargement is realised through the accession of the new Member States, the Commission will assist in preparing a stable political framework for neighbouring countries of the Union. Enhanced cooperation with the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and the Mediterranean countries will certainly cover Justice and Home Affairs issues building on existing initiatives in this area, with a view to ensuring regional stability and internal security.
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Police- and law-enforcement co-operation in the EU is an area that has seen considerable progress in the last five years. It will continue to be one of the main fields of work for the enlarged European Union and remains our political priority. The key to success in this area up to now has been the creation of a culture of cooperation and trust among the different law-enforcement agencies in the Member States. It is important to continue to build up this trust through a multi-disciplinary approach: common training, making better use of programs for exchanges and secondments and trying to gain mutual knowledge of the national systems are key.
We must use the many instruments to enhance co-operation in the fight against crime to our citizens' advantage, to ensure their security and to devise ways to better confront the threats posed to our societies by international crime. It goes without saying that at the same time, we must continue to keep our core values in mind when considering any type of repressive measure. The inclusion of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the draft Constitutional Treaty is a sign of the importance we attribute to these rights in the EU. The work already done in the Council of Europe in this area, and especially the adoption of the European Code of Police Ethics, are positive developments to be welcomed.
The police systems in all the EU Member States are characterised by democratic control, the respect of individual rights, transparency, integrity and responsibility to the public. These are values which the police in the future Member States have also espoused. The need to balance these values with the maintenance of law and order, especially when faced with a growing willingness to resort to violence on the part of young people, is a challenge to all police forces.
Police officers in the European Union, through their integrity and dedication play an essential role in achieving our common objective, the construction of an area of freedom, security and justice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your commitment and encourage you to follow this path. I wish you and all of us interesting discussions, fruitful contacts and a successful 7th European Police Congress.