European Parliament resolution on the extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels on 21 September 2001
Date: 2001-10-04
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Afghanistan, EU relations, United States, judicial cooperation, police cooperation, religious fundamentalism, terrorism

C 87 E/216

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.4.2002

Thursday 4 October 2001

(cid:1) having regard to the amended proposal (COM(2001) 63) (1),

(cid:1) having regard to its position at second reading (2) on the Council common position (3),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission’s opinion on Parliament’s amendments to the common position

(COM(2001) 376 (cid:1) C5-0297/2001),

(cid:1) having regard to Article 251(5) of the EC Treaty,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 83 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of its delegation to the Conciliation Committee (A5-0313/2001),

1.

Approves the joint text;

Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of

2.
the EC Treaty;

Instructs its Secretary-General duly to sign the act and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of

3.
the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

4.

Instructs its President to forward this legislative resolution to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 154 E, 29.5.2001, p. 265.
(2)
(3) OJ C 93, 23.3.2001, p. 24.

‘Texts Adopted’, 16.5.2001, Item 8.

4. Extraordinary European Council (Brussels, 21 September 2001)

B5-0666, 0668 and 0674/2001

European Parliament resolution on the extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels on
21 September 2001

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council meeting in Brussels on
21 September 2001, and the statements in plenary on 3 October 2001 by the Commission and
Council on the outcome of that summit,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 20 September 2001 and

the Ecofin Council of 21 September 2001,

(cid:1) having regard to the Joint Declaration by the Heads of State and Government of the EU, the Presidents
of Parliament and the Commission and the High Representative for the CFSP of 14 September 2001
on the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the large number of victims and
the far-reaching implications for the security of members of the public,

(cid:1) having regard to Security Council resolution 1368 (2001) of 12 September 2001 in which these acts
are condemned unequivocally, expressing the Security Council’s readiness to take all necessary steps to
respond to the attack of 11 September 2001 and to combat all forms of terrorism in accordance with
its Charter responsibilities,

(cid:1) having regard to Security Council Resolution 1269 (1999) of 12 September 1999 condemning all acts
irrespective of motive, wherever and by whom committed, and reaffirming that the
is an essential

of terrorism,
suppression of international terrorism,
contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security,

including that in which States are involved,

11.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 87 E/217

(cid:1) having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001,

(cid:1) having regard to its recommendation of 5 September 2001 on the role of the European Union in

combating terrorism (2001/2016(INI)) (1),

Thursday 4 October 2001

A. deeply shocked by the murderous terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the

Pentagon in Washington,

B. whereas these terrorist attacks, and terrorist activities in general, constitute a crime against humanity
and the values of an open, democratic, multicultural society and, as such, are a threat to international
peace, stability and security,

C. noting the declaration by the 19 NATO Member States invoking for the first time Article 5 of the
North Atlantic Treaty as a clear sign of Euro-American solidarity and as a guarantee of their involve-
ment in combating terrorism together at all its stages, which is a Treaty obligation,

D. whereas combating international terrorism implies a distinct strengthening of the relevant European

Union competencies,

E. whereas combating terrorism first of all requires a criminal justice approach as well as a stronger
crime prevention policy at international level; whereas it is necessary to ensure that such an approach
is consistent with respect for the fundamental freedoms which form the basis of civilisation,

1.
Expresses its solidarity with the people and the government of the United States and its sympathy
with the injured and the bereaved families of the victims from the USA and many other countries who
suffered as a result of this terrorist attack;

2.
Recognises the heroism displayed by the emergency services of New York and Washington, notably
the fire fighters, many of whom gave their lives to save others, and commending the selfless courage of the
passengers who overpowered the hijackers of the fourth plane at the cost of their own lives, but saving
countless others;

3.
Condemns the shameless abuse of religion by those who committed these murderous acts, which
cannot be reconciled with the peaceful Islam; firmly rejects opinions proclaiming the supremacy of any
civilisation based on adherence to a particular religion; reaffirms that measures against terrorism should be
reconciled with respect for fundamental freedoms and in this context expresses its full support for and
solidarity with European Muslims and with Muslims residing in the EU countries;

Supports the idea outlined by the European Council of negotiating an international EU-US agreement

4.
on judicial and police cooperation based on the treaties;

Foreign Affairs and Security

Calls on the regime in Kabul to implement the Security Council Resolution demanding the handing

5.
over to international justice of those responsible for the attacks;

6.
Underlines that, independently of the current developments, the Afghan people are affected tremen-
dously by international terrorism and the Taliban regime and calls therefore for a major humanitarian
effort to be undertaken;

Calls on the Commission to assign particular priority to cooperation with the United Nations High

7.
Commissioner for Refugees in connection with the problem of Afghan refugees;

8. Welcomes in this context the EU Troika visit to a number of Asian and Arab countries for dialogue,
with the aim of succeeding in the common objective of combating terrorism;

Stresses the need to bring forward the convening of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum in

9.
connection with the Barcelona process in order to further intensify the political dialogue;

(1)

‘Texts Adopted’, Item 1.

C 87 E/218

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.4.2002

Thursday 4 October 2001

Supports the call made by the European Union for the broadest possible coalition against terrorism

10.
under the aegis of the United Nations;

Shares the conclusion of the Council that the fight against terrorism will be all the more effective if
11.
it is based on an in-depth political dialogue with those countries and regions of the world in which
terrorism originates and on continuing investment and support for conflict prevention activities, and
insists that EU relations with third countries continue to be based on the essential principles of human
rights, democracy and good governance;

12.
Urges in particular the EU to step up its fight against uncontrolled and illegal arms exports and the
worldwide proliferation of heavy weaponry and light weapons, as well as the fight against chemical and
biological weapons;

Urges the Council to act immediately as soon as the European Parliament has given its opinion on

13.
the framework decision on the European Arrest Warrant and the common definition of terrorism;

14.
Calls on the Council and the Member States to cooperate with the Government of the United States
on the basis of Resolution 1368/2001 in finding the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of the attacks as
well as all those who protected them; considers that all actions have to be appropriate and targeted, avoid-
ing damage to innocent civilians and their property;

15.
Strongly supports the conclusion of the extraordinary European Council that the Union must
further develop the Common Foreign and Security Policy and development cooperation policy, focusing
on the prevention and stabilisation of conflicts, and, to this end, make the European Security and Defence
including the Rapid Reaction Force and the Rapid Reaction Facility, operational at the earliest
Policy,
opportunity;

16. Welcomes the renewed commitment by the European Council to bringing peace to the Middle East;
demands in this context the prompt reestablishment of a dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians on the
basis of all the recommendations outlined in the Mitchell report in order to reach a comprehensive settle-
ment in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;

Internal Security and Justice

17. Welcomes the two proposals recently adopted by the Commission on combating terrorism and on
the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedure between the Member States, and calls on the
Commission to initiate further legislation to combat terrorism, which would introduce a distinct added
value compared to existing national and international instruments and which would take the most strin-
gent national legislation as the point of departure;

18.
Urges the Council to make this agreement immediately applicable by submitting as soon as possible
to the European Parliament the framework decision on the European Warrant, the common definition of
terrorism, and the framework decision on joint investigation teams;

19.
Urges the Member States to implement, immediately after the consultation of the European Parlia-
ment, the framework decision on the European Warrant, the common definition of terrorism and the
framework decision on joint investigation teams;

20.
Takes the view that the strengthening of police and judicial cooperation, particularly for the pur-
pose of fighting terrorism, must be accompanied by a strengthening of parliamentary and judicial control
and maintained protection of fundamental rights and liberties;

Hopes that the Council and Parliament will reach a consensus on the directive on money launder-

21.
ing;

22.
Encourages the police forces and the intelligence services of the EU Member States to work closely
together with the American authorities in trying to fight terrorism and bring those responsible to justice;

11.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 87 E/219

Thursday 4 October 2001

23. Welcomes the call by the European Council for the implementation of all existing international
conventions on the fight against terrorism, and therefore calls on the Member States, where appropriate,
to speed up the process of accession and/or ratification and effective implementation of the existing con-
ventions on terrorism,
including the International Convention on the suppression of the financing of
terrorism (1999), so far ratified by only one Member State;

24.
Calls for the ratification of the statute of the International Criminal Court, linked to the United
Nations system, with jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community
as a whole;

25.
Stresses recent progress with regard to mutual recognition of judicial decisions, particularly by
means of the measures proposed by the last extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council, and calls on
all Member States not to raise any new legal obstacles which could in any way compromise developments;

Undertakes to take the budgetary measures necessary to meet the increased needs in the fields of

26.
combating terrorism, providing aid to refugees and combating poverty;

27.
Urges the Council to take seriously into account the possibility of integrating judicial and police
cooperation (cid:1) or at least, the fight against organised crime, including terrorism (cid:1) in the first pillar, with
the means of Article 42 of the EU Treaty, as the best way to give an appropriate answer to the challenges
facing the European Union;

Air safety

28.
Urges the Council to promote security measures with regard to all forms of public transport, par-
ticularly aviation and shipping, as well as with regard to industrial installations and nuclear power plants;

29.
Undertakes to play its part in expediting the various legislative proposals with a bearing on air
safety currently under consideration; looks for speedy progress in the Council, where the holding up of
certain decisions by the dispute over the status of Gibraltar can no longer be tolerated; in welcoming the
Commission’s decision to publish on 10 October 2001 its long overdue proposals for an effective Euro-
pean air traffic management system, stresses the need for speedy legislative follow-up;

Economic issues

Calls on the Commission to present to the European Parliament a report on the effects of the
30.
terrorist attacks on the world economic situation; instructs its appropriate committee to give a suitable
follow-up to this report;

Calls for common action to impose adequate controls on the international financial markets and to

31.
abolish off-shore banking and tax havens in order to effectively counter money laundering practices;

32.
Encourages the Member States to take joint measures to block capital movements funding terrorist
networks and hopes that the financial markets will reorganise in such a way as to increase the role of the
supervisory authorities and fight insider trading and money laundering; takes the view that banking secrecy
should not stand in the way of investigations into the funding of international terrorism;

33.
Believes that the impact of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on the global economy
reinforces the importance of successfully launching a new broad round of world trade talks at the WTO
Ministerial Conference planned for next November in Qatar;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Govern-

34.
ment and Congress of the United States of America.