Mr President, never has there been more need for a stronger Europe to address the issues of citizens’ security and freedom, to implement that area of freedom, security and justice that the Treaty of Amsterdam promised us and the Tampere European Council planned to create. The momentum to implement the necessary measures has repeatedly faltered in the face of often short-sighted resistance on the part of the governments. It took the tragedy of 11 September to, at last, shake up a large number of our leaders and substantial impetus has been lent to the adoption of certain necessary measures. I fervently hope that it will not take more tragedies to set the Tampere process in motion, not least because the laws made under the emotional pressure of inhuman tragedies are not always wise ones. In these cases, we are sometimes in danger of disregarding the need to safeguard peoples’ fundamental rights. I am glad to say that the three reports before us do not fall into this trap and I particularly welcome the contributions of the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, which tabled amendments improving the proposal. Mr Kirkhope’s report calls upon us to support the proposal of four Member States to adopt a framework decision on joint investigation teams, already provided for by the Tampere European Council and the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union, endorsed by Parliament a year ago when it adopted the Di Pietro report. Therefore, Mr Kirkhope’s report deserves the widest consensus, not least because it contains amendments improving the proposal with regard to respect for fundamental rights, parliamentary scrutiny and extending the use of joint investigation teams to combat organised crime as well as terrorism and trafficking in drugs and human beings. Mr Turco’s reports, as adopted by the Committee on Citizen’s Freedoms, going against the rapporteur’s recommendation, move that we should adopt the two proposals on Europol with appropriate amendments. The first stipulates that Europol’s mandate may be extended to all serious forms of organised crime already listed in the Annex to the Convention in accordance with the priorities established by the Council upon the proposal of Europol’s management board. The Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms’ amendment on the subject moves that this decision should be a qualified majority decision adopted by the Council after it has consulted the European Parliament and obtained the opinion of Eurojust, a body which is particularly experienced in this field. I am sad to see that, although the Members of the European People’s Party voted for the motion in committee, they have now changed their minds and feel that Eurojust’s opinion should not now be taken into consideration. The opinion is certainly not binding but it is certainly very useful, and it would be absurd not to make use of it. We therefore support the first Turco report, as tabled in committee. The second Turco report on the transmission of personal data from Europol to third States also warrants full consensus. I would say that, irrespective of the rapporteur’s opinion which we have heard today, these proposals should be adopted en masse. However, I fully agree with what the rapporteur has said, which is also stressed in the amendments adopted in committee. They firmly reiterate the opinion, often expressed by Parliament, that it is becoming increasingly necessary to communitise the instruments of judicial cooperation and to consolidate the judicial and democratic control of these instruments, which are, in fact, quite vital.

Political group: PSE