Mr President, Europe has a duty to continually step up its efforts to establish a harmonised judicial area, in particular for the benefit of the weakest members of society. It is against this background that today's debate on parental responsibility is taking place. Parliament was consulted on this proposal for a Council decision at very short notice – as you reminded us, Commissioner – but the importance of the debate and the issues involved meant that it was willing to comply. I believe that we cannot do other than welcome this proposal, because this debate on parental responsibility is the consequence, dare I say it, of the political determination of a number of Members of this Parliament – foremost among them my colleague Mrs Banotti – who have been campaigning since 1994 for Parliament to take into account the child's best interests and the rights of the child. Although the Hague Convention of 1996 is a traditional legal instrument within private international law, it has already been a significant source of inspiration for those drafting the new regulation on parental responsibility. We already know that on 3 October, the Ministers of Justice of our respective countries adopted this new regulation, which should make it possible to avoid those interminable legal battles that are so detrimental to children. This new text also extends the scope of Brussels II to all decisions relating to child custody, which should be welcomed given that in many countries, in particular France and Germany, divorces and separations between couples from two different countries are still giving rise to substantial conflict. It will also mean that one single text will determine the judge competent to rule on a divorce or on issues affecting children. It is therefore a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, we should not forget that the thorny issue of parental responsibility also arises outside the European Union with regard to third countries. That is also why, in the same spirit, I support the Commission's proposal to authorise the Member States to accede to the Hague Convention. I am convinced that this Convention can make a valuable contribution to strengthening Community legislation on child protection in cases that go beyond the borders of the European Community. I would draw your attention to the fact that the overlap between the scopes of the Convention and the new regulation will, I am sure, make it easier to apply these two instruments in parallel. As you will have seen, given the rather procedural nature of the Commission's proposal, I have not tabled many amendments. I do not think that Parliament has had cause to object to the content of the proposal. It is an exceptional procedure, as I have underlined in my report, given that the Hague Convention stipulates that only sovereign states can be parties to it. This illustrates the importance of Parliament's role, because a parliamentary opinion is required for the Member States to accede to the Hague Convention. Commissioner, I have stressed the timetable. The Commission had proposed a very long deadline: 1 March 2005. That is why I have tabled an amendment proposing to bring this date forward by six months, to 30 June 2004. I do not think that you will have anything against this, particularly given that it is in the interests of the children. I have also tabled two further amendments, one of which refers to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the other to the work of the European Convention. You will be aware that in the first part of the draft constitution, Articles 3 and 4 provide that the Union shall combat exclusion and discrimination and provide social justice and protection, equality between women and men, solidarity between generations and protection of children's rights. It is in this spirit that I have proposed this amendment. Commissioner, we all know that enacting rules on the subject is not enough and we must not simply see this as an empty gesture, because we constantly need to follow up specific cases that are submitted to us. It is therefore essential to ensure that the rules are properly applied, but, given that it is up to the Member States, who remain sovereign in this field, to do this, the European Parliament will always have to ensure that, in accordance with the recent conclusions of the UN World Summit for Children, the child's best interests remain a prime concern, not only in all judicial decisions relating to children, but also in all of the decisions made by our Parliament.

Political group: PPE-DE