Full Minutes of the Meetings

SESSION OF WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2004

Progress in the implementation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (2003)

Karamanou (PSE). – Mr. President, Mr. Commissioner, without a doubt, Tampere was a significant milestone and starting point for the creation of a European Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice.

As the deadline approaches, we find that the glass is simultaneously both half full and half empty. Undoubtedly, progress has been made under the difficult conditions created within the Council by the different cultures and approaches of the Member States. Regarding migration policy, significant progress was made at the European Council in Thessaloniki, as you, Commissioner, also acknowledged; however, the issue of recognizing rights and the social integration of migrants does not seem to be very high on our political agenda. And this certainly does not align with what we claim about Europe, humanistic values, and respect for human rights. The directive on family reunification, as shaped in the Council, is effectively prohibitive, and I consider the European Parliament’s recourse to the European Court of Justice against the content of the directive to be significant.

Regarding asylum, I would like, Commissioner and Representative of the Council, to express my condolences to the Council, which failed to adopt the two directives on the definition of a refugee and the procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status, issues that were also promoted by the Greek Presidency. Meanwhile, the Geneva Convention on refugees is known to have been torn apart from one end to the other across the European Union.

Regarding the fight against internationally organized crime, I believe that no progress has been made in this area when thousands of children and women are trafficked within the European Union every day for the purpose of sexual exploitation. I think this failure is also due to the lack of substantial operational cooperation between the police authorities of the Member States to combat this phenomenon, which offends our culture.

Also, the effort of the Irish Presidency to close the issue of creating a database of migrants’ personal data with biometric elements, such as fingerprints and digital facial photographs, I believe will create serious deviations in the matter of respect for and control over the management of personal data.

We hope, Commissioner, that new ideas and a new strategy for Tampere II will be developed.