WRITTEN QUESTION P-0292/03 by Kathalijne Buitenweg (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Tony Blair's comments on 26 January 2003 on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in conjunction with Articles 6 and 7 of the EU Treaty.
Date: 2003-02-03
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European Convention on Human Rights, European Union membership, United Kingdom, head of government, powers of the institutions (EU), press release, right of asylum

C 268 E/88

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

7.11.2003

(2003/C 268 E/089)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0292/03

by Kathalijne Buitenweg (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(3 February 2003)

Subject: Tony Blair’s comments on 26 January 2003 on the European Convention on Human Rights

(ECHR) in conjunction with Articles 6 and 7 of the EU Treaty

On 26 January 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested via the media that he considers ending
compliance with the commitments under the ECHR (in particular Article 3 thereof) or revoking the ECHR
to be serious options in order to force down the number of asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.

Article 6(1) of the new Union treaty, which is entering into force shortly, states that the Union is built on
the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of
law. Pursuant to Article 6(2), the EU must respect the fundamental rights laid down in the ECHR as general
principles of Community law.

Article 7(1) empowers the Commission to submit to the Council a proposal determining that a breach by a
Member State of the principles under Article 6(1) is imminent.

In the Commission’s judgment, would ending compliance with the commitments under the ECHR or
revocation of the ECHR on the part of a Member State constitute a breach of the principles under
Articles 6(1) and (2)?

In the Commission’s judgment, would ending compliance with the commitments under the ECHR
(in particular Article 3 thereof) or revocation of the ECHR on the part of the United Kingdom give rise to a
Commission proposal to the Council as referred to in Article 7(1)?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(3 March 2003)

The Commission has noted the comments made by the UK Prime Minister.

The Commission recognises the relevance of the question put by the Honourable Member in view of the
special role assigned to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights by Article 6 of the
Treaty on the European Union and by Court of Justice case-law relating to the protection of fundamental
rights in the Union.

However, before adopting a position on the substance of the question, the Commission would like to
consider the matter further in the light of any subsequent developments.

(2003/C 268 E/090)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0298/03

by Wilhelm Piecyk (PSE)
and Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Commission

(7 February 2003)

Subject: State aid and EU employment in maritime transport

One of the main objectives of the guidelines for State aid to maritime transport (1) is to support and
safeguard EC employment. This objective was fixed against a background of a number of years with
decreasing employment of EC seafarers as opposed to a substantial increase in the employment of low-
wage third-country seafarers.

Prior to the adoption of the guidelines, the European institutions had on several occasions highlighted the
need to support the employment of EC seafarers, for example, the Commission’s communication ‘Towards
a new maritime strategy’ (2), and the Council resolution of 24 March 1997 ‘on a new strategy to increase
the competitiveness of Community shipping’ (3).