4. Agreement between the EC and Serbia on readmission (vote)
- Report: Fava


13. Estimates of revenue and expenditure for 2012 - Section I - Parliament (
Before the vote
Mr President, I would like to make a simple technical correction that does not alter this report in any way. There is a transcription error in Article 400 on own revenue; this article concerns proceeds from taxation on the salaries, wages and allowances of Members of the institutions, officials, other servants and recipients of pensions. The figure given is 48 103 216, whereas the correct figure is 63 103 216. This is merely a technical amendment or correction that does not alter the report in any way or have any other implication.


Closure of the sitting


2. Implication of the UN forces in sexual abuses in Liberia and in Haiti
The next item on the agenda is the debate on the implication of the UN forces in sexual abuses in Liberia and in Haiti.
author. - (ES) Mr President, why are we talking about the United Nations? Because the European Union is the main donor of the funds that make it possible for that wonderful invention to operate.
I have here with me Nirj Deva, who is a fierce advocate of the necessary role that the United Nations must play in the world.
A hundred thousand people are working for the United Nations to maintain peace in the world and practically every single one of them does their work very well, but there have been accusations of, and complaints about, crimes of sexual abuse, child prostitution and paedophilia. There have been accusations in the Republic of Congo, in Kosovo and now in Liberia and in Haiti, the country from which I have just returned.
Since 1994, amongst the one hundred thousand personnel deployed as peace-keeping forces, more than three hundred cases of sexual crimes against children, against people with few resources, have been investigated. As a result of the three hundred and nineteen cases investigated, one hundred and seventy-nine soldiers have been found guilty. If we are going to maintain peace and if we need the Member States of the United Nations to send personnel, we must do everything we can to ensure that they are going to maintain peace and not to indulge in sexual tourism paid for essentially with Europeans' money.
This Resolution is therefore intended to praise the role of the United Nations, but also to state that we need the Member States responsible for peace-keeping forces and soldiers to behave in a civil manner that respects human rights.
We must therefore prevent any more rapes of women and children, we must prevent paedophilia and we must stop European money being used, via the United Nations, for the purposes of committing sexual crimes.
author. - (PT) It has been well documented that there have been complaints of children being subject to rape and forced into prostitution by UN peacekeeping forces in Haiti and Liberia. This follows on from other similar scandals, including paedophilia perpetrated by UN personnel in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the trafficking of human beings in Kosovo.
These are deeply shocking acts, which we condemn, and we would like measures to be put in place to prevent such acts from happening again. We are in denial about the fact that these acts of sexual abuse and exploitation and other forms of criminal behaviour committed by UN staff, which violate human rights and which run counter to, and are a betrayal of, the UN's humanitarian and peacekeeping mission take place. As the resolution to which we put our name stresses, we know that action has been taken in the form of inquiries and disciplinary measures. As recent cases show, however, the troops' countries of origin too must take action to prevent any repetition and to ensure that the outstanding work of the majority is not tainted.
We also call on the UN to take steps to protect vulnerable people such as women, children and refugees in areas in which its troops are operating. We call on the Commission and the Member States, moreover, also to support initiatives aimed at safeguarding the rights of women in conflict or post-conflict zones and to take economic and social measures to make these women less vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
author. - (PL) Mr President, in the last century the gravest cause for concern were aggressive superpowers such as Germany under Hitler or the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, these problems did not end with the turn of the century. In the 21st century we are still encountering violence and inhuman, humiliating treatment of others. This is particularly regrettable when the organisations whose duty it is to help nations which have been oppressed and suffered injustices send in peacekeeping personnel who, instead of bringing help, bring more suffering and humiliation.
Such is the situation in Liberia and Haiti at the moment. Instead of maintaining security, peace and respect for individual rights the peacekeepers have been engaging in the disgraceful practice of sexually abusing women and young girls. There have even been cases of children being raped and forced into prostitution. Any kind of sexual abuse and other forms of criminality that are blatant violations and betrayals of peacekeeping and humanitarian missions by UN personnel, and which are infringements of human rights, must be condemned categorically.
The people in question have suffered enough already. They waited hopefully for salvation, but what did they get instead? The same story all over again, except this time round the perpetrators were those who they expected to help them.
author. - (ES) Mr President, giving the UN the greatest possible support is a strategic priority within the European Union's foreign policy. Our Parliament has reiterated this, with particular acknowledgement of actions in the field of conflict prevention and peace missions. This support was expressed once again by Parliament's delegation that visited New York a few weeks ago and that held talks with the Secretary-General and the people in charge of peace-keeping operations.
What we have said is consistent with the House's decision to award the Sakharov Prize to Kofi Annan, for the work that had been done in the very field that we are dealing with here. The Resolution that we are to approve should therefore be seen within the context of the solidarity that the European Union is expressing with the UN's difficult work in this field.
It is regrettable and extremely unfortunate for the organisation itself that certain personnel acting in the name of the United Nations have behaved in a criminal fashion, carrying out proven sexual assaults on women and children in countries in which they were carrying out missions. That kind of behaviour tarnishes the image of the UN, which also faces great pressure from certain people in the world who, taking a unilateralist view of international relations, adopt the opposite view to us and would prefer to see the UN's role greatly restricted.
While we are condemning this behaviour, therefore, we are also acknowledging that they are exceptional cases and expressing our satisfaction at the fact that it has been the UN itself that has brought them to light. We must also urge the United Nations to take the greatest possible care in its selection and training of people taking part in these missions, either as agents of the UN or as participants from the Member States or associated NGOs.
For the UN and for those of us who identify with it, it is essential to clear up any doubts over the view we take of the behaviour being condemned, and we all have the responsibility of ensuring that the guilty people do not go unpunished.
(ES) Mr President, while it is unacceptable that anyone should exploit or abuse women and children, taking advantage of their defencelessness and vulnerability, as we are seeing on a daily basis in Afghanistan or - as has already been mentioned - in the recent cases of Sudan or the Republic of Congo, it is absolutely unforgivable that those responsible for that abuse should also be responsible for protecting the women and children concerned.
This is particularly serious if, to make matters worse, it is United Nations personnel, whose stated role, as has been pointed out, is to protect not just these people's lives and dignity, but also peace as a concept.
The constant cases of sexual violence, therefore, such as those committed in Haiti or in Liberia by United Nations staff and particularly by soldiers, civilian personnel and police, must not under any circumstances be ignored or go unpunished. They must be appropriately condemned and penalties applied.
In this regard, it is extremely worrying that the staff expelled from the organisation for having engaged in sexual exploitation or abuse are rarely prosecuted in their countries. The governments of those countries therefore have a responsibility, and it is therefore also necessary that impunity in relation to incidents of this kind should not be accepted under any circumstances. That requires that we move towards the adoption of an international treaty which, being of a binding nature and involving penalties, can clearly detect, and take action in relation to, practices of this kind when they take place.
Any kind of flexibility in this regard would be entirely unacceptable. I believe it necessary, firstly, for the fundamental and classic principle of zero tolerance to be properly applied, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, has said on several occasions. Secondly, the issue must also be tackled from the point of view of the vulnerability suffered by women in post-war conflict situations.
It is therefore important that aid programmes should prioritise the empowerment of women so that they themselves can defend themselves in these situations and be less vulnerable than they are at the moment.
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. - (DE) Mr President, the UN is an organisation which enjoys a high degree of credibility worldwide on the subject of maintaining peace. It is extremely important that this good reputation is preserved. If all we receive is shocking reports of rape and sexual abuse, we must also assume, unfortunately, that a high number of incidents have gone unreported, also in view of the fact that reports are circulating of a culture of silence within the UN missions themselves. I am convinced that only a strategy of zero tolerance will succeed. This means that the commanders on site must be able to send the persons in question home immediately, in which connection the country responsible for sending the individual in question is under an obligation to prosecute said party at home under criminal and disciplinary law. For the individual soldiers, many of whom are from developing countries, such deployment is also of financial interest. If it gets about that examples are actually to be made by sending people home, meaning that money is no longer paid, this would presumably be the most effective way of reducing such incidents in future. However, it must also be made clear that superiors who tolerate such conduct will no longer be available for deployments of this nature in future.
on behalf of the PSE Group. - (DE) Mr President, the references to the sexual abuse of children in Haiti and Liberia by UN personnel is just the most recent in a long list of similar scandals. These human rights violations contrast starkly with the humanitarian task of the United Nations to preserve peace.
In many parts of the world, UN troops assist in overseeing the transitions from dictatorships to democracies and transformation processes. Time and again, however, individual UN soldiers have committed serious misdemeanours, damaging the reputation of the peacekeepers. Since troop training and discipline is ultimately also the responsibility of the Member States, we call on those countries which provide UN contingents to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the parties accused. We call on the United Nations to create a working environment in which the culture of silence does not stand a chance, for this is inconsistent with the zero tolerance policy of the United Nations.
It should not be the case that sexual abuse goes unreported for fear of reprisals. Reference has also already been made today to the importance of strengthening the role of women. In connection with this, I would like to appeal to the Council, the Commission and also to the UN, that Resolution 1325, which was adopted by the UN Security Council in 2000, be implemented in practice.
on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Mr President, there is now ample evidence that a number of United Nations peacekeepers have, in recent years, been involved in hideous crimes against the vulnerable civilian populations they are supposed to protect. These crimes include such abominable acts as rape and sexual exploitation of children.
In considering the subject, there are three aspects that are extremely worrisome and disconcerting. First, it is almost certain that the reported and investigated cases are only the tip of the iceberg. Some claim that, for every case investigated, there are ten that will never come to light. Second, in most instances a cover-up operation is put in motion, not just by the criminals involved, but also by their superiors in command - the comradeship-in-arms of soldiers becoming the conspiracy and concealment of criminals.
In any event, carrying out a proper investigation under the circumstances involved is not just difficult, but, in most cases, it is impossible. Of relevance here is the fact that jurisdiction over UN soldiers lies with the country of origin of the individuals involved. Such a jurisdiction process is strewn with procedural and legal problems and, in effect, provides UN soldiers with immunity from prosecution.
Third, in most cases investigated and found to be substantiated, the guilty get away with minimal punishment. Ordinarily, a paedophiliac rapist would get life imprisonment in most countries, but a UN paedophiliac rapist would probably merely be disciplined, or would just be excluded from again being hired by UN missions.
This shameful, despicable and abhorrent criminal activity by UN personnel cannot go unpunished, and neither can the ultimate political responsibility of the UN hierarchy be swept under the carpet. The outgoing UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, has a lot of explaining to do in this respect.
on behalf of the IND/DEM Group. - (PL) Mr President, the present debate on breaches of human rights is particularly shocking and repulsive as it relates to human trafficking and sexual abuse against children in Liberia, Haiti, Congo and elsewhere by the staff of humanitarian missions who are supposed to provide help and care to the victims of starvation and armed conflict and ensure their security, protection and nourishment.
Exploitation, sexual abuse, forced prostitution and trading in starving children show what degradation and moral depths people can sink to when they are driven by their urges and ignore moral principles. Even if only a handful of individuals are guilty of such vile and shocking practices, it is the others, the thousands of dedicated mission personnel, who bear the burden of suspicion, and this leads to a loss of hope.
That is why we cannot remain silent and must demand that the guilty be punished, and that the personnel of humanitarian missions be carefully selected and screened.
(PL) Mr President, I would like to highlight three issues. Firstly, the shock and horror that resulted form the reports of UN forces being implicated in sexual abuse in Liberia and Haiti make it clear that these questions must be fully cleared up by the structures of the UN, and that the individuals guilty of these crimes must be brought to justice and punished.
The second point is what Miguel Angel Martínez has already spoken about, which is the role of UN peacekeeping forces in the modern world, and the importance which the European Union attaches to these forces.
The third point is the need for special training for UN peacekeeping forces in human rights, which should include an element of gender relations. I would also like to underline that there should be a proportionate participation by women in UN peacekeeping missions. These actions could in future become a guarantee that crimes of this type are never repeated.
Mr President, after East Timor, Somalia, Kosovo and Congo, can we really see what is happening in Haiti and Liberia as exceptional? Wherever the UN goes it seems that sexual abuse occurs against the civilians they are supposed to protect.
Kofi Annan has been the Secretary-General of the UN and its peacekeeping forces for many years while this abuse by UN personnel, for whom he bears responsibility, has been taking place. He has done nothing about it. Instead, he allows it to be covered up, as an internal UN report on sexual abuse in East Timor demonstrates. Though sexual abuse has been a problem there since the arrival of the UN in 1999, not one UN staff contractor or soldier has been brought to justice, even when it involved East Timorese children. The Pope and the Vatican are held responsible for sexual abuse by priests, so why does the same principle not apply to Kofi Annan and the UN?
Mr Annan will retire soon to great honours and a generous pension. I hope his successor will take sexual abuse seriously.
Vice-President of the Commission. (FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it goes without saying that the Commission shares Parliament's indignation and concern at this unacceptable and intolerable behaviour by soldiers engaged in peacekeeping operations.
As such, of course, this question is not strictly speaking within the Commission's competence. It is, however, obvious that the exploitation and sexual abuse of which some of the Blue Berets have been guilty can only be of very serious concern to us. These incidents have not only sapped the confidence of the local populations, who are already traumatised and impoverished, but they are also in breach of the obligation of care incumbent on all peacekeeping personnel.
The Commission therefore fully supports the measures taken by the UN as part of its policy of zero tolerance towards such acts of exploitation and sexual abuse. Obviously, the Commission joins the European Parliament in encouraging the UN to quickly take the severest action in this matter.
The debate is closed.
The vote will take place presently, following this afternoon's debates.


The mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (debate)
The next item is the debate on the report by Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck, on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, on a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
rapporteur. - (NL) Madam President, Commissioner, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, since its inception in 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has indicted 161 people. Proceedings have been fully concluded against 116 of them, while for a number of other defendants, the criminal procedure is still in progress.
Proceedings are yet to start in two cases only, while two main defendants, Messrs Mladić and Hadžić, are still on the run. Although the UN Security Council has asked the Tribunal to wind up its activities by no later than the end of 2010, it has left some room for manoeuvre.
After an understandably difficult start - after all, everything was new and had to be invented on the spot, as it were - the Tribunal has turned out to be a very sound, serious and capable legal body that does not limit its activities to administering justice, which, by the way, it does with the greatest care, something which has boosted its legitimacy. In addition, the Tribunal has set up proper outreach programmes to contribute to the assimilation and reconciliation process in the countries that came into being after the former Yugoslavia collapsed.
The Tribunal also helps train national legal bodies which, after all, have to handle the lion's share of the dossiers on war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indeed, it was never the intention for the Tribunal to step into the shoes of national courts across the former Yugoslavia on a permanent basis.
Quite the reverse. It is the countries in question that have to ensure that the war crimes and crimes against humanity are prosecuted and tried. With this in mind, the Tribunal has passed on a number of dossiers to national courts and has focused on the most important cases.
The Tribunal has also set up a proper completion strategy in three stages to meet the requirements of the Security Council. The plan provides for full completion of all legal proceedings by the end of 2011, with a possible extension into 2012. To provide for all eventualities but, above all, to ensure that Messrs Mladić and Hadžić will, in any event, undergo the same procedure, an effective, highly-qualified and sufficiently equipped mechanism will need to be put in place that can take care of the rest of the tasks, even after the Tribunal's mandate has come to an end.
For all these reasons, we would ask the Council to urge the United Nations, and particularly the Security Council, to extend the Tribunal's mandate by at least two years, to see to it that after this period, a reception mechanism is provided for and to ensure that the Tribunal's archives are kept and made accessible.
In a similar, but somewhat broader, context, we would ask that a good working relationship with the Tribunal and the development of an effective judiciary which also handles crimes against humanity remain assessment criteria for our relations with the countries in the Western Balkans. We urge the countries in question to continue to lend their cooperation to the Tribunal and provide sound answers to the main prosecutor.
Finally, we ask the Commission to continue to pay attention to the training programmes and other initiatives that are aimed at mutual dialogue, the joint search for the truth and reconciliation. After all, the administration of justice alone - however good - does not yet lead to reconciliation, and this is desperately needed so that the men and women of the Western Balkans can finally start building on their future.
President-in-Office of the Council. - Madam President, I think this debate is a timely one and that Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck's report includes a number of important recommendations. It gives me the opportunity to raise an issue which is central to our policy towards the Western Balkans.
The work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is an essential element in rendering justice, coming to terms with the past and moving forward. It is also key to strengthening the rule of law in the region. This can be a slow, and at times difficult, process, but the ICTY has made important progress. So far, it has completed proceedings against 116 accused with very different verdicts. Only two of 161 indictees remain at large.
When the ICTY was set up in 1993, the domestic judicial systems in the former Yugoslavia were unprepared for dealing with crimes of this scale. Yet it was clear that they had to be addressed. No contract, no agreement, no society can be sustainable without justice. Our strategy towards the region is to assist in stabilising the countries of the Western Balkans and helping them realise their EU perspective. A central element of that policy is cooperation with the ICTY. We support its mandate in several ways.
Firstly, the countries of the Western Balkans are part of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP). This process depends on respect for democratic principles, the rule of law, human rights and the rights of persons belonging to minorities, fundamental freedoms and the principles of international law and regional cooperation. It also depends on full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. SAP conditionality is monitored through the annual progress reports prepared by the Commission. The next progress reports will be published in October 2009.
In addition, human rights and rule-of-law issues, including strengthening the functioning, impartiality and responsibility of the judiciary system, and the fight against corruption and organised crime, are key priorities of the EU's European Partnership with the countries of the Western Balkans. These are updated on a regular basis.
Furthermore, the Council has adopted two common positions aimed at supporting the implementation of the mandate of the ICTY by imposing an assets freeze on indicted fugitives and a travel ban on persons assisting ICTY indictees to evade justice. These common positions are regularly extended and updated.
The European Union will support the work of the ICTY until it has been completed. I entirely agree that in the longer term, the legacy of the ICTY must be preserved. Whenever this happens - and it is not a matter for the EU to decide - the domestic judicial systems will need to be ready to take over the ICTY's files. This is one of the reasons why the emphasis we have placed on judicial reform and good governance in the SAP is so important.
The work of NGOs and individuals, such as the Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade and the Research and Documentation Centre in Sarajevo, who are seeking the truth, also deserves our full support.
Let me close by thanking this Parliament for your support in this area and, in particular, for this helpful and constructive report.
Member of the Commission. - Madam President, I welcome the initiative and report by Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck. This initiative and report send a very welcome signal about the commitment of the European Parliament to support the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
For the Commission, it is clear that the international community must maintain its full support for the ICTY to complete its remaining tasks. There can be no impunity for war crimes and, as you well know, full cooperation with ICTY is a condition for making progress in European integration. This necessary condition affects the EU accession process of Serbia today and it has affected Croatia. I hope it will not affect Croatia again, on condition that Croatia maintains full cooperation with ICTY.
This principle also includes the handling of war crime cases that are referred back to domestic jurisdiction by the ICTY. We have provided financial support and we are intensifying our support and efforts at capacity-building in this important field, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has by far the largest caseload.
The Commission has recently approved funding for a project initiated by Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on internships in his office to train visiting war crime prosecutors and young professionals from south-east Europe.
We are also working with Chief Prosecutor Brammertz on other projects including a regional conference for war crime prosecutors from the Western Balkans. That will take place in Brussels in early April, next month.
All in all, the Commission remains fully committed to ICTY and continues to support Mr Brammertz and his dedicated colleagues in efforts to bring to justice those who are responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law and thus we want to support this important work contributing towards reconciliation and the maintenance of peace in the Western Balkans.
I look forward to continuing to work together with Parliament in this regard.
Madam President, I should like to extend warm thanks to Mrs Neyts for the completeness of her report. She is right in saying that Parliament should indeed set out its priorities very clearly. War criminals should not be exempt from punishment. All countries in the region must lend their full cooperation, and the International Criminal Tribunal should be given the chance to conclude its activities with due care.
Madam President, clearly, the Court in The Hague, with 116 finished cases and much work in the region, can submit a very fine result. Nobody can claim any longer that the guilty get off scot-free. I am also pleased with the emphasis that is placed on the full cooperation that is to be given to the Court. This applies to all countries from which suspects hail. The people that are still on the run should be brought to justice, and all the countries in that region have given their word to the European Union to this effect. We would not be credible if we did not hold firm to this. In fact, with the rapporteur's consent, I will table an oral amendment on this matter tomorrow.
Madam President, the Court's value is considerable, not least because there is still so much work to be done in the judicial system in the Balkans. This is why it is also good that this report stresses the importance of the proper functioning of an independent and impartial justice system. This is, after all, one of the Copenhagen criteria.
I would like to make two points. With regard to the deadline of 2010 or 2011, I take the view that we should not be so strict. It is, after all, far more important that the Court can continue to function after this deadline if necessary to bring certain aspects to a close.
Secondly, as regards completion, even with the arrest and trial of Messrs Mladić and Hadžić, the Court's work will not be finished. The residual mechanism and the International Criminal Court can take over, but good and less good experiences should never be lost, in my view.
on behalf of the PSE Group. - Madam President, since its establishment in 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has fundamentally reshaped the role of international humanitarian law and has provided the victims of the tragic Balkan conflicts, who would otherwise have gone unheard, with an opportunity to voice the horrors that they and their families experienced and to seek justice.
The ICTY has shown that no one, whatever their position or status at the time of the conflict, is immune from justice - a precedent that now sees the International Criminal Court promote respect for human rights across our world.
Today, we reiterate that, for the former Yugoslavia, there can be no impunity for those indictees who are still being sought. Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić are still renegades from justice and must be handed in.
We should also give our full support to Chief Prosecutor Brammertz's call for the necessary documentation, vital to the case against the former General Ante Gotovina and others, to be made available to the Tribunal - an issue that our Croatian friends, amongst others, know is pertinent to the EU accession process.
The Socialist Group has proposed two amendments to plenary. Firstly, that it should be made clear that any proposals for a possible mandate extension should not divert attention from the key task of completing trials and moving towards the earliest possible closure. Secondly, we appeal for free access to the ICTY's archives by prosecutors, defence counsel and, eventually, historians and researchers.
I thank the rapporteur, and I commend these amendments to the House.
on behalf of the ALDE Group. - Madam President, we need to support, to its conclusion, the impressive work of the Hague Tribunal in bringing perpetrators of terrible crimes to justice and not impose an artificial cut-off, because time pressures would prejudice fair trials while shortcuts would harm the safety of witnesses. While many lower-level cases have been successfully transferred to national courts, some of them may be unable or unwilling to conduct criminal proceedings in accordance with international standards, which means that transfers are sometimes being resisted by victims and witnesses.
In order to permit the continuation of the ICTY's mandate, we urge the Council to encourage the Security Council to provide sufficient resources from its general budget, not least to be able to retain key specialists and highly qualified staff. The Tribunal must leave a sound legacy, both as a model for other potential ad hoc tribunals and in order to contribute to the strengthening of justice in the Balkan countries.
There is a need for increased EU support for domestic war crimes investigations and trials and for the Copenhagen criteria to include even more support for a well-trained and high-performing judiciary, but the legacy of this is that the Tribunal must also contribute to reconciliation and inter-ethnic understanding, and the work of NGOs deserves more resources.
Commissioner Rehn reminds us that full cooperation with the ICTY is a condition of EU accession but the truth is, as Commissioner Orban candidly told me last night in the absence of Commissioner Rehn, that there is no unanimity in the Council as to what that means. That has led to confusion and a consistent postponement of deadlines. Much as we all want Serbia and Croatia to join, the Council, Commission and Parliament must be united and firm in saying that indictees like Mladić and Hadžić must be delivered and, in the case of Croatia, evidence and witnesses facilitated. We cannot afford to relax these conditions.
(NL) Madam President, I should like to bring up a few points in this brief debate. The work of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is of eminent importance, not only because it guarantees that those responsible for the war crimes in the Balkans are brought to justice, but also because it serves the public's sense of justice. Moreover, the Tribunal plays an important role in European policy with regard to the Western Balkans. This is something that is also stressed in Mrs Neyts's report.
Now that the end of the Tribunal's mandate is in sight, we have to think about bringing its work to a close. In my group, what is paramount is that the capacity is kept at the same level to finalise the cases that are still in progress and to bring the last two suspects who are still on the run, Messrs Mladić and Hadžić, before the Tribunal.
Indeed, we should not at any time want to create the impression that the length of the mandate and its expiry will somehow mean that these people could remain at large. Whether this is done by extending the mandate or by creating a residual mechanism is not a question of principle for us, and as far as we can see, we can perhaps also find a way of putting the judges, the lawyers and the secretariat on a form of standby.
(FR) Madam President, the European Union applies the principle of equal treatment to all of the countries of the Balkans.
If, on the one hand, we are insisting that Belgrade hands over Mr Mladić before the interim agreement on trade within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement can be implemented, it is clear that we are also asking for Croatia's full cooperation with the Tribunal.
However, this cooperation leaves much to be desired, to say the least. During the last visit by the Chief Prosecutor, Mr Brammertz, to Zagreb, in February, where he had gone to ask for the missing documents relating to the use of artillery in 'Operation Storm', which, for the record, resulted in the exodus of 200 000 Serbs and the death of 350 civilians, the Prosecutor demanded Croatia's full cooperation and, although the European Commission has just given the green light to opening Chapter 23 on the judiciary and fundamental rights, some European governments will not hear of it, nor will the European Parliament.
There will, in fact, be no support for us in the Balkans without a guarantee of peace, and the best guarantee is truth and justice for the crimes of the past.
I should like to congratulate Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck on her report, which received unanimous support within the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
(RO) I congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Neyts, and I welcome the report on the mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a report which I have also contributed to with a few amendments and which raises a series of real issues which we have a duty to consider.
We must ensure that the results achieved so far by this tribunal in punishing war crimes and promoting reconciliation in the Western Balkans are effectively utilised. The tribunal's work must be fully completed. It is also necessary to assess the results achieved so far, especially the objectives which have not yet been attained. Based on this assessment, the Council should consider extending its mandate for as long as required.
Certainly, this tribunal will not be able to continue its work indefinitely. This is why we need to ensure that there will be a mechanism in place to carry on the residual functions which are not met at the moment, for as long as required. In this respect, I welcome the proposal to the United Nations Security Council aimed at setting up an institution with this in mind.
Another measure which I feel is crucial to the development of sustainable institutional facilities in the Western Balkans is the creation of a set of regulations and evaluation criteria for judicial systems in these countries in order to support national courts.
(PL) Madam President, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has made a significant contribution to the process of reconciliation in the Western Balkans and has helped to bring about the restoration and maintenance of peace in the region. It has also contributed to the creation of the foundations of a new world standard for conflict resolution after the end of a war. It should, however, be emphasised that support for development of the potential of national judiciary in the Balkans is a fundamental matter, so that local courts will be able to continue the work which the Tribunal has begun. Proper cooperation between courts and prosecutors in the Western Balkans is another important challenge, especially in cases involving extradition and mutual legal assistance. There is also an obvious need to introduce mechanisms which will ensure that after its closure, the functions of the Tribunal and the material it has produced will strengthen the principles of states governed by law.
Finally, I should like to appeal to the countries of the Western Balkans, and to the countries of the EU, to support the work of non-governmental organisations and also of other institutions which help victims, propagate dialogue and understanding between ethnic groups, and which support efforts for reconciliation in the Balkans.
President-in-Office of the Council. - Madam President, in conclusion, I would like briefly to reiterate our full support for the ongoing work of the ICTY as an important part of the healing and reconciliation process in the Western Balkans, now and in the future.
Let me just mention that we will be having meetings with the Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, in Prague tomorrow. I agree that the Tribunal should be in a position to carry out its mandate, complete the ongoing trials and open new ones against the two indictees still at large. I also agree that the legacy of the Tribunal has to be preserved by strengthening the local capacity to deal with the outstanding cases. After all, these are the cases which concern the Western Balkan countries and for which they themselves eventually need to take responsibility.
Member of the Commission. - Madam President, I wish to thank you for a very concise but important debate and congratulate Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck on her report and initiative.
The ICTY is indeed an expression of European values of justice and the rule of law, and therefore this debate is so important. It is also an essential element of our enlargement policy in the Western Balkans.
On dates, I can only agree with the ICTY itself - that the dates in the tribunal's completion strategy are target dates only and not absolute deadlines, as correctly stated in Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck's report.
For the Commission, the crucial issue is retaining the support of the international community for the completion of the Tribunal's existing mandate so as to ensure that there will be no impunity for war crimes in the future.
rapporteur. - Madam President, I wish to thank everybody who contributed to this debate.
I also wanted to say that I have found with everybody who works or has worked at the ICTY a degree of dedication and commitment which I have seldom seen elsewhere. That has been a great pleasure.
That was all the more reason to come forward with these proposals.
The debate is closed.
The vote will take place tomorrow, Thursday, 12 March 2009.
Written statements (Rule 142)
Mr President, the work of the Hague Tribunal deserves the permanent support of the European Union, mainly because of the creation of foundations for a new standard in conflict resolution, and also because of its significant contribution to the process of reconciliation in the Western Balkans region.
In the light of the UN resolution calling for an end to the work of the ICTY, I agree with the rapporteur that the possibility of extending the mandate of that institution should be investigated. The continued work of the Tribunal is needed, if only because of the fact that many criminals remain at large, and a significant number of cases still require reliable examination.
It is my conviction that a key factor here is also the creation of a perspicuous mechanism of operation for the judicial system in the Balkans, which will assume the original functions of the Tribunal after its closure. In addition, I appeal to Member States to support the work of non-governmental organisations and also of other institutions which help victims, promote dialogue and understanding between ethnic groups, and support efforts at reconciliation.
Ten years after the dirty war unleashed against Yugoslavia by the USA, NATO and the EU, those guilty of crimes against its people are salivating over the thousands of people murdered, including women and children, and over the massive damage they caused in the Balkans. The report in question extols the Tribunal in The Hague which they set up in order to try their victims and exonerate the American and European imperialists of their crimes, a tribunal with fabricated charges, with parodies of trials, which resulted in the murder of the former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. With unbelievable insolence, they are calling for its operation to be extended so they can set up new guilty parties and exert terrorist pressure on the people of Yugoslavia by calling on them to sign a declaration of repentance for defending their country and of subjugation to their European murderers.
Simply voting against this despicable report does not suffice. The Greek Communist Party has abstained from the vote. It refuses even by its presence to participate in the legitimisation of imperialist crimes by the European Parliament. In this way, it pays minimum homage to those who paid for the imperialist barbarity of the USA, NATO and the EU with their blood.
Real tribunals of the people will be set up and the real guilty parties and murderers in the USA, NATO and the EU, the centre left and centre right governments, will be judged and sentenced for their crimes.


Explanations of vote
Oral explanations of vote
(IT) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to speak in this great parliamentary Chamber, crowded by Members from all 27 of our Member States. I rarely get such an opportunity to make myself heard by so many.
It falls to me on this occasion to explain my vote in favour of the report by Mr Belder on trade and economic relations with Western Balkans. I am absolutely in favour of the European Union making it as easy as possible for these Balkan states to join the European Union. I believe that it is important for economic aid to be higher than that allocated to date, and that we should make it possible to increase links between the Balkan states and Europe, develop tourism and allow all Balkan citizens, young and old, to live a better life than they have until now.
Madam President, first, I just wish to record the fact that I pressed the wrong button on the McGuinness report. In fact, I completely support the McGuinness report on food security - but I will check that with the services later.
I particularly agree with the point that we need to adapt the CAP to meet food security concerns and the fact that farmers need a stable policy environment in order to plan for the future. We cannot have certainty, but we certainly need to have some stability.
In addition, I support the fact that the market alone cannot provide income security for producers and also the call for a detailed impact assessment, in particular, let us say, on the implications for food security. If we look at particular EU proposals, for example on plant protection, again we need a proper detailed impact assessment on that, and we need to take food security into consideration when we conduct that assessment.
Madam President, I would like to thank colleagues for their endorsement of this report and Marian Harkin for her words of support.
It presents a clear statement of the view of this House on agriculture policy, not just at the European level, but also at a global level. In particular - and this is important - it calls for a refocus on agriculture policy in the developing world, providing assistance to those who can produce food to do so locally. I believe the EUR 1 billion that the European Union will provide for this purpose is a step in the right direction.
Obviously, I supported my own report. I believe it is a blueprint for the future in terms of how this House views agriculture. While the food security debate has gone off the political agenda, the problem of 30 000 children dying of hunger and starvation every day remains with us.
Madam President, I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to explain why I abstained on the McGuinness report. It focuses on a very important aspect of the European Union and that is the absolute essentiality of ensuring food supplies to those who are starving or those who do not have a proper food supply. Nobody could be against that, and I am certainly not against that. But the problem with the report, in my view, is that it looks and refers to the common agricultural policy and does not address the fact that there is an urgent need for the reform, and further reform, of that policy.
It is not serving the people of Europe well; it is not serving the farmers of Britain well. Until that burden is taken away from the European taxpayers, then we are going to be in difficulties. Yes, the objectives of the report are right, but I am afraid that it fails very badly in addressing the core problem.
(PL) I fully endorse most of the proposals and statements contained in the McGuinness report, which was adopted a moment ago. Sudden fluctuations in food prices are going to occur in the global market with increasing frequency, which will have negative consequences.
Price rises are felt most by low-income families, who spend a significant proportion of their budget on food. It is just such people who deserve help: the most needy people, both in developing countries and in the European Union. I agree that the common agricultural policy should be adapted to the new conditions in order to better address the problems of food security, and this is why the removal of instruments which manage markets and a reduction in the level of EU expenditure on agriculture in the future financial perspective should be opposed.
It is a good idea to establish an international body which will observe the prices of agricultural products and factors of their production under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization, in order to monitor these data on a world scale and to be able to react rapidly to fluctuations. I think the establishment of a world system of storing food supplies should also be considered.
Madam President, I am grateful for this opportunity to explain why I also abstained on this report.
I think most people in this Chamber, from whatever part of the political spectrum they come from, would agree that food security is very important. The problem is that we do not agree on what food security is. To many of us, food security is making sure that there is enough food for the people of the world - wherever they come from. For others, it is an excuse for protectionism. Food security to them means only food produced in the EU for Europeans. 'Local production' is a phrase that I often hear used. I hear people using the excuse of food security to keep out imports from the rest of the world, thereby condemning the high-quality exports that we see from many of the poorer countries of the world and condemning many more farmers in poorer countries to poverty.
To say that a common agricultural policy should be the cornerstone of food security is an amazing statement which needs to be shot down.
Madam President, I concur with the comments made by my excellent colleague Mr Syed Kamall on this matter. I abstained because it was my party's whip to abstain on this report, but everybody knows that food security is a very important subject to us all, which is why I am bemused by the way that this place deals with such a matter.
In this particular report - which I believe we all voted for - we mention the problem we were just about to create for ourselves by voting for the plant protection products directive. We have just undermined European food security. About three minutes after we voted for this report we were basically ensuring that our farmers would not be able to grow enough food for our continent in the future. I find this bizarre. It is a shame that nobody else seems to read some of these reports that go through this place.
Madam President, one of the biggest concerns and one of the keys in relation to global food security is to ensure sufficient, sustainable production and, indeed, food security in the so-called developed world, such as here in the EU, so that we can export our surplus production and are not competing ourselves on world markets for food, thereby increasing the prices for those in regions who do not have the climate, the soil, the know-how and the investment to produce their own food.
We have to be very careful with our policies to ensure that we are responding not only environmentally but also globally to the necessity for sustainable food production.
(SK) I voted for the report on the common agricultural policy and global food security because it deals with issues that I have consistently been raising in the European Parliament as matters of priority.
The first issues involves the reduction in producer costs, which will lead to greater global competitiveness. The second issue is the reduction in the volatility of food markets, especially by increasing stocks. The third issue concerns halting the decline in the social importance of agriculture by increasing public awareness of its unique and irreplaceable role. The fourth issue concerns ending the random operation of the common agricultural policy (CAP) by implementing a systemic organisation of the policy with a focus on long-term objectives. The fifth and final issue involves putting a stop to the agricultural decline in the new Member States caused by the CAP's discriminatory principles, while significantly boosting utilisation of wasted agricultural potential in these countries, the new Member States.
Madam President, this goes to the core of this whole European Union. Here we are approving more money to try and persuade the public to vote for the wretched Lisbon Treaty. The public, on being given a chance in the Republic of Ireland, made it absolutely clear that they do not want it and if the people of Britain were to be given a chance - and they should have been because they were promised it in the last general election by the Labour Government - they would also vote overwhelmingly to reject this Treaty.
The message should be heard loud and clear in the European Union, it really should: people do not want it. People do not want more control in Brussels and Strasbourg. People want their own governments and their own legislatures to be making the decisions that affect them. Until that message is received we will keep pumping more taxpayers' money into forcing people to the polling box in the pretence that you actually persuade them to change their minds. They will not do so.
Madam President, first of all I would like to say that this is an excellent report. We are always speaking about connecting the EU to its citizens and the fact that the EU project cannot proceed without the involvement of EU citizens.
There are two types of democracy: representative, which we have in this House, and participative, which is what this report is all about. However, it is important to understand that civil dialogue is two-sided. It is reciprocal. Therefore, the concerns and ideas put forward by citizens must be taken into consideration by the EU institutions. I think we have an excellent example of that in the one million signatures for disability and the document that we are debating in this Parliament at the moment.
I disagree with the last speaker because I believe, if we do pass the Lisbon Treaty, that it gives us the opportunity to connect citizens to the EU in a much more meaningful way. Our role in this House is to ensure, if we pass the Lisbon Treaty, that it works effectively.
Madam President, much can be inferred from the title of this report: 'Perspectives for developing civil dialogue under the Treaty of Lisbon'. Never mind that, as it seems periodically necessary to remind this House, the Treaty of Lisbon is not in force. It has been three times rejected in its several forms by 55% of French voters, by 62% of Dutch voters and by 54% of Irish voters.
Focus rather on the Orwellian Ministry of Love bit of the title 'Perspectives for developing civil dialogue'. Now, ordinary voters unversed in the peculiar idiom of the European Union might not understand those words, as we in this House do, to mean creating a new propaganda budget to try and convince people to change their minds.
I have to say that not every euro in the vaults of the European Central Bank will serve to convince people of an intrinsically bad idea.
Dialogue by definition involves two parties. The EU has to be able to receive as well as transmit. That means putting the Treaty to a referendum. Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est!
Madam President, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain the way I voted on this report.
When I read the title of the report, 'Civil dialogue under the Treaty of Lisbon', it reminded me of a phrase by Mahatma Gandhi. When he was asked about Western civilisation, he said, that 'that would be a good idea'. Therefore, when I read this title, 'Civil dialogue under the Treaty of Lisbon', I thought, 'that would be a good idea, would it not?' If only we had civil dialogue. If only we had two-way dialogue. One of the previous speakers said that dialogue is very much a two-way process, but if we look at some of the civil society organisations being funded in order to promote the Treaty of Lisbon, we only see organisations that are fully signed up to promoting this fundamentally undemocratic Treaty. How many organisations that are against the Treaty will be funded or will be allowed to be promoted? There is no two-way dialogue, and that is why the citizens of the EU, when they are given the chance and asked about the Treaty of Lisbon, will choose to reject it.
Madam President, thank you all for your patience in the Chamber. I wanted to speak on this but I have just got too much to say today, I am so excited by all the votes that have been going through the Chamber today. Yes, the common fisheries policy; yes, let us talk about sustainable development - but the two are inherently contradictory. If you want to look at a sustainable fisheries policy, you have to look at property rights and market-based solutions. Look at those countries where fishermen are given rights that are tradable and passed on from generation to generation. That is the best way to make sure that we have sustainable fish stocks, not some artificial communistic method where you have central planning in fishing. That is why we are seeing great depletion of fish stocks, and we will all suffer in the end.
We will now suspend the sitting. We will return to the explanations of vote after the formal sitting.


Dates of forthcoming sittings: see Minutes


Closure of sitting
(The sitting was closed at 11.55 p.m.)


Approval of the minutes of the previous sitting: see Minutes