Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, in view of the vast number of reports before us for discussion, I would like to make some fundamental observations, as Commissioner Vitorino has done. If we briefly review the past year in flashback, we can clearly see that we have, as rarely before, made progress in the area of internal security, even before 11 September. We have laid down the political guidelines on immigration and asylum policy; we have drafted detailed regulations; we have, in these areas, taken steps to deal with illegal immigration and also prepared for intensive judicial cooperation; and, after lengthy discussions, have even implemented a directive on money laundering. Progress has been made; it was heavy going, but we succeeded in moving ahead. We owe this in particular to the way Parliament and the Commission work so well together; they have led us to these very advances. Many thanks, Commissioner Vitorino! There were more, indeed dramatic, developments after the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September. The Member States' ministers – both of justice and of home affairs – appear at last to have woken up, with the consequence that the counter-terrorism package, which instituted Europol's joint investigation teams, could be wrapped up with the sole exception of the European arrest warrant, and I wish to express congratulations to Prime Minister Berlusconi and President-in-Office Verhofstadt for having brought about a settlement that may eventually make it possible to implement the European arrest warrant. The package of measures extends to the freezing of the money and other assets of suspicious organisations, as this will make it possible to sever the arteries of terrorism and organisations of a criminal nature. Renewed consideration, though, has led indirectly to greater security, one example being our most recent discussions here, in which we urged that a visa should in future be carried in exactly the same way as a residence permit, a document in its own right and unambiguously indicating the identity of the bearer. This is a plus for security, an added value which we have achieved through our discussions here. Our concern must, however, be with pressing the Member States to speedily implement all the measures we have decided on. I would, though, also like to use this opportunity to highlight some less positive developments. The working conditions in this House are, as a rule, among them. Cooperation with the Council leaves something to be desired. It is increasingly the case that documents are presented too late or not at all, resulting in Parliament and the committees discussing castles in the air. In important committee meetings, but also in the plenary sittings, the Council is frequently conspicuous by its absence. Monday was the classic example; in the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, we met specifically to have important debates on the European arrest warrant and on cooperation with the United States, which involved an exchange of letters between Presidents Bush and Prodi. The Council distinguished itself by not being present, and there was no written material for discussion. Putting it mildly, that is unacceptable from the point of view of cooperation here. Take one look at the timetables and you will know that they result in impossible working conditions. We are increasingly getting documents at the last moment. This is not on. We want to make speedy progress, but not at the expense of quality. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE