10. Area of freedom, security and justice
(a) B5-0110/1999
Resolution on the establishment of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
The European Parliament,
Mdash having regard to the conclusions of the Cologne European Council,Mdash having regard to its proposals contained in its resolutions on the Constitution of the European Union
in particular, and in its other resolutions of a general nature on institutional matters adopted in thecourse of its 1994-1999 term of office(
1),
1. Welcomes the decision taken at the Cologne European Council to proceed with drawing up a draft
European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights in good time for the December 2000 European Council;
2. Considers that the commitment to establishing that Charter represents one of its constitutional prio-
rities and entails the joint responsibilities of the two Institutions on which the Union’s legitimacy isfounded, viz: the Council (as regards the Member States) and the European Parliament (as regards the
peoples of Europe);
3. Draws attention to the need for an open and innovative approach to shaping the Charter, the nature
of the rights to be featured in it, and the part it will play and the status it will command in the constitu-tional development of the Union;
4. Calls, as regards the membership of the drafting authority and the organisation of its work;
Mdash for the number of the Members of the European Parliament to be equal to the number of the repre-
sentatives of Member-State Heads of State and Government, in order to confer an equally high publicprofile on each side and to provide for adequate representation of the different political tendencies andsensitivities represented in the European Parliament;
Mdash for the essential role and contribution of national parliaments to be ensured by the most effective
means possible, to be determined in the light of appropriate consultations with speakers of nationalparliaments;
Mdash for the powers of the President and the Bureau to be determined by the drafting authority;
Mdash for the latter to be empowered to decide on the option of convening a drafting committee and work-
ing parties;
Mdash for appropriate steps to be taken to ensure transparency of activities; for contributions from NGOs
and the general public also to be ensured, and for public hearings to be held;
Mdash for the authority’s secretariat to be the responsibility of the participating bodies;
5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the other Commun-
ity Institutions and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.
(1) OJ C 120, 16.5.1989, p. 51; OJ C 324, 24.12.1990, p. 219 ; OJ C 61, 28.2.1994, p. 155.
(b) B5-0116/1999
Resolution on the extraordinary European Council meeting on the area of freedom, security and
justice (Tampere, 15-16 October 1999)
The European Parliament,
Mdash having regard to the EU and EC Treaties, and in particular the provisions regarding the development
of the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ),
Mdash having regard to its previous resolutions on this subject(1),
(1) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, pp. 5 and 6; OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 4.25.2.2000 EN C 54/93 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 16 September 1999