Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it augurs well that we are holding this debate on International Women’s Day, and thereby bringing our commitment to such things as the combating of violence to the attention of the countries from which we come. Mrs Karamanou has alluded to the many things we have achieved since Finland, a century ago, became the first country in Europe to give women the vote; the results have been many, they alone count, and not one of them just happened; women always had to fight hard for them. Speaking as the rapporteur on the Daphne programme, I would describe the situation facing us today as the tip of an iceberg; I refer to the trial of Marc Dutroux, a case that we can expect to disclose a veritable morass of violence against women and children. One might say that we can see the initiative that led to the Daphne programme ten years ago, at a time when Dutroux’ crimes came to light, now forming a direct link with the programme’s second stage, aimed at preventing and combating violence against children, young people and women. This second stage, running from 2004 to 2008, is accompanied by a substantial increase in resources, and I have to remind you that we now have EUR 10 million per annum as against EUR 5 million per annum in the first stage. Although this is still a mere drop in the ocean, doubling the annual budget in this way is urgently necessary, as Daphne I was able to fund only 13% of the good projects. Much of the knowledge gained from the first stage of Daphne was incorporated into the new programme. We had a long battle with the Commission and the Council to get a helpdesk set up for NGO’s seeking help from the programme for the first time, especially those in the new Member States, where the structures of NGOs for women are still very weak. What is now Amendment No 5 is a form of words to which the Council can agree, and I hope that we will soon have an agreement on this. The draft report also includes a proposal to declare 2006 the European Year Against Violence, to inaugurate a wide-ranging public debate aimed at developing further initiatives to halt the advance of the deadly virus of violence. I am able to mention only a few of them: there has been a dramatic increase in trafficking in women, and, according to the International Organisation for Migration, 500 000 women have been smuggled into the European Union in order to be sexually exploited and forced into prostitution. That figure has now risen to 800 000, and the well-organised criminal slave trading rings – for that is what I call them – do not shrink from trafficking in children as well. One of our amendments deflected a Council proposal to the effect that the Daphne II programme should concentrate more on offenders. We did not see why resources that were in any case meagre should be taken away from the victims, and offenders identified as a target group. More to the point, the preventive measures under Daphne I already facilitate work with offenders and victims and bring the two together. Informal dialogue between the Council, the Commission and my committee made it possible for us to agree on proposals, which we put to the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities as amendments. If we were to find a broad majority to support these amendments tomorrow, it would send a clear message to women – and not only to women, but also to organisations in Europe, that we are joining battle against violence, and that we will not stand idly by while gangs of criminals make billions. My thanks go to the Commission, above all to Commissioner Vitorino, and to the Irish and Italian presidencies of the Council for their cooperation; I hope that we can expect broad support for these five amendments tomorrow, and that the Common Position, as thus amended, can then enter into force without delay, for the programme for the necessary task of combating violence is urgently needed. (Applause)

Political group: PSE