Vice President of the European Commission

SPEECH/08/335

Jacques Barrot

Vice president of the European Commission

Speech before the European Parliament

European Parliament

Strasbourg, 16 June 2008

Speech by Jacques Barrot, Commission Vice-President responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security

before the European Parliament.

(Check against delivery)

Monday, 16 June 2008

Presidents,

Honourable Members,

Mr Barroso has asked me to take over as Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, after standing in for two months. I am well aware of the scale of the task, and impressed by the work accomplished in recent years under my predecessors, Antonio Vitorino and Franco Frattini. I am of course also grateful to Jonathan Faull and the entire team at the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security.

Having already had occasion to present myself to this House and its committees, I would like to speak briefly of my experience and vision of Europe. I will try to set out the objectives that will guide my action and the method by which I plan to pursue them in cooperation with Parliament and the MemberStates.

I. My past experience and commitment to the European idea

I - 1/ Let me begin by rapidly highlighting the relevance of my experience so far:

-My training as a lawyer. It was through this profession, rather than politics, that I planned to serve the values of humanism to which I subscribe.

-My experience as a local elected representative. As President of the Department of Haute Loire, I saw the importance of local policies for the integration of communities of different origins. In a region with a long tradition of welcoming persecuted communities, a tradition so deep rooted that a whole village was designated "Just Among the Nations", I set up a reception centre for asylum seekers.

-My experience as a minister gave me a taste for negotiations with the social partners. Social dialogue remains the key to effective reforms, since it determines their acceptance.

-My long experience in Parliament. As a member, as chairman of committees, as leader of a parliamentary party, I know how important it is for the legislature to exercise effective oversight over the executive. This control must be strengthened in the key areas of justice, fundamental rights and security.

-So here I am, a European Commissioner with a new portfolio for the third time.

-Having taken over from Michel Barnier in 2004 as Commissioner for Regional Policy, I was able to finalise the proposals for cohesion policy reform for the period 2007 - 2013. This experience gave me a vision of European solidarity between peoples, regions and countries.

The four years spent as Transport Commissioner have done much to help me understand what justice, freedom and security are all about. We have built an area in which goods, services and people can move freely. Today citizens find it increasingly hard to understand why they cannot take their rights with them, why, when it comes to their liberties, this area is still criss-crossed by so many legal frontiers, frontiers which are unfathomable and sometimes provide shelter to criminals.

I realise that the area of justice, freedom and security requires, if it is to be operational, not just the interconnection of the different legal systems but the construction, connection, management and control of the use of such IT and logistical systems as SIS II and Eurodac.

I-2/ My experience has always been put at the service of a commitment to Europe, a vision of Europe.

- As a child I was impressed by Robert Schuman, who was a friend of my father, while my adult years have been marked by all the struggles to advance the European project. Let me illustrate my commitment by citing three recent practical steps: the prohibition of all discrimination to give the disabled and people with reduced mobility effective access to air transport; the return to orbit of the Galileo satellite radio navigation project; or more recently, the draft negotiating directives for an EU-Balkans transport community, which I went to Belgrade to present.

-The European Union is more necessary than ever. Globalisation, while bringing opportunities, is also arousing fears which we must do our best to banish. We can only do this by speaking with one voice and acting together.

-The European Union, which was created to reconcile our peoples, must remain a model. Europe’s economic and social cohesion makes it less vulnerable to external crises and speculative bubbles than other regions of the world.

-The European Union is a work in progress: its progress is slow; compromise is its mainspring; but the Community method has shown its worth.

II – In the drive towards unity in diversity, the area of freedom, security and justice is the new frontier

I was pleased that in this sphere the European Parliament was to see a considerable extension of its powers as joint legislator. Like you, I hope that the prospect has merely been postponed, and for as short a time as possible!

You can count on my full commitment.

I want to underpin this framework by continuing to build European citizenship, and protecting all the rights that go with that citizenship and the freedom of movement. But European citizenship must go hand in hand with a strengthening of the common policy on immigration, to arrive at a genuinely concerted management of migratory flows, in partnership with non member countries.

II – 1 Continuing to build European citizenship

The word “citizenship” should not make us afraid. European citizenship is not something intended to replace our citizenship of our own countries, or indeed our national identities. European citizenship comes on top of national citizenship. By “European citizenship” I mean the highest possible degree of protection, no matter where in Europe: individual protection, in the shape of respect for individual people’s rights, and collective protection, in the shape of respect for rules.

1/ Citizenship and fundamental rights

Our policy must focus on ensuring individual protection and guaranteeing the freedoms and fundamental rights of all people living in Europe.

I intend to make use of all the means at our disposal on the basis of the Treaties in order to secure real respect for fundamental rights.

An important partner in our efforts to achieve this objective will be the Agency for Fundamental Rights, which would never have seen the light of day without your support. I have already met its Director, Mr Kjærum.

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the European Union is an example to the world, and must remain so. It is vital to the credibility of our foreign policy. To strengthen the force of the example it sets, I hope the time is coming when we will have a basis for proposing the accession of the Union to the European Convention on Human Rights.

All discrimination is serious, and deserves to be fought with the same determination. The Commission has already proposed legislative initiatives, especially in order to combat racism and xenophobia. I am very pleased that last week we asked my colleague Vladimir Špidla to draw up a proposal for a cross-cutting directive aimed at combating all the forms of discrimination referred to in Article 13 of the Treaty.

The protection of the individual requires respect for the individual’s privacy. The present situation must be improved. I know the importance this House attaches to the question. I intend to launch a wide ranging consultation with a view to tightening data protection. We have to modernise the existing legislation (Directive 95/46) to adapt it to the development of new technologies and to respond to new challenges. I will take the fullest account of your contributions and of the work of the European Data Protection Supervisor, whom I met recently.

Freedoms and rights march together. One of the great victories in the building of Europe is the possibility given to citizens and their families to move freely from one MemberState to another, and to remain there. This freedom must not be whittled away. It must be guaranteed. Later this year, we will be submitting a report on the application of Directive 2004/38.

The freedom to move within the Union imposes obligations on us outside the Union. We have a duty of solidarity with two groups of people:

-solidarity with the citizens of those of our Member States who do not enjoy the same facilities in terms of visas: you can count on my commitment to convince the United States to allow all citizens of the Union to travel to that country without a visa;

-solidarity with the peoples of Europe whose future lies in the Union: I have begun a dialogue with the countries of the western Balkans which must lead towards the end of visa requirements, as a symbol of their bond with Europe and their transition to democracy.

But what use is mobility, if people have to leave their rights at home, or do not know how to invoke them? People who move buy goods, enter into contracts, marry, have children, divorce, die. Things that are simple enough at home can grow complicated on the other side of a border.

A lot has been achieved in judicial cooperation in civil matters: I will seek to ensure that what has been agreed is properly applied, and where necessary I will make use of infringement proceedings. I will report to you regularly.

To ensure that that this branch of the law is properly applied by legal practitioners, I want to improve its clarity. I will be helped in this dialogue with practitioners from different professions by the Justice Forum which I set up on 30 May in the presence of Mr Deprez, in which I hope to be able to lead the discussion along with him and Mr Gargani.

Simplifying life for citizens also requires cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the completion of the programme of mutual recognition of entitlements, documents and judgments. I will be proposing a legal framework to allow the mutual recognition of the property implications of marriages and other forms of civil union. I will also be getting work started on the recognition of documents certifying births, marriages, deaths and the like, and the authentication of documents issued by public authorities in the EU.

I have a particular concern for the protection of children, especially in cases of divorce. It is indispensable that there should be proper application of the law on parental responsibility and, very soon, maintenance obligations. I have asked my department to ensure that the website designed to inform young people about their rights, the bodies that can help them, the organisations that can protect them and so on is up and running by the end of the year. I also want to get all the Member States to set up a proper mechanism for early warning in cases of child abduction.

But it is not enough to protect the rights of the individual. Society must also be capable of ensuring its own security.

2/ Citizenship and security:

Freedoms and fundamental rights cannot be effectively exercised without security and an effective guarantee of collective protection.

Mutual recognition of decisions taken by judges in the various Member States must remain the cornerstone of judicial cooperation in criminal matters too.

Rapid progress must be made towards setting up the European Criminal Records Information System to avoid repetitions of the Fourniret case. I have recently put forward a decision to achieve this, as part of the E-Justice framework. E-Justice uses information society tools to bring justice closer to the citizen and improve cooperation between judicial authorities.

The more we develop effective and interoperable instruments for policing and criminal matters, the more vigilant we will have to be as regards data protection.

In a Europe with no internal borders, our police and criminal justice systems are still not communicating effectively enough to combat organised crime and terrorism. The current Eurojust developments must continue.

At the same time, developing and strengthening Europol should bring about better police cooperation: I must bring to fruition Europol’s transformation into an EU agency.

I will be continuing efforts to spread best practice and encourage the use of new technology to combat terrorism more effectively. A new series of actions could be proposed in 2009 to ward off the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threat or more effectively to prevent recruitment to terrorist networks. The fight against terrorism should be conducted with full regard for fundamental rights. I am currently awaiting Member States’ replies to the questionnaire on the effectiveness of anti-terrorism measures.

I intend to enhance collective protection of the most vulnerable. With a view to combating trafficking in human beings, especially women, and the sexual exploitation of children, and supporting the victims of crime, I will be presenting you with a set of proposals to improve the current framework. Parliament must express its views on these crucial issues.

I am counting particularly on the contribution from your committees here. We are making progress thanks to the experience you have all acquired in these matters. I am thinking in particular of violence against women, and the suggestions made by your President, Ms Záborská. I think too of drug trafficking, that constant scourge on our youth and European society in general.

My experience of the fight against violence on our roads has taught me never to give up.

On the model of the European Road Safety Charter, I intend to establish a European charter for the prevention of and fight against drug abuse. One signature leads to another, responsible behaviour generates more responsible behaviour. That is how to awaken consciences.

II – 2 Reinforcing the common policy on immigration

1/ We must develop genuine concerted management of migratory flows, between Member States and in partnership with other countries.

Immigration will, in the years ahead, be one of our biggest challenges, offering opportunities of growth and jobs for our ageing economies and of development for countries of origin.

However, compartmentalised national policies will prevent us from rising to so complex a challenge.

We must therefore promote an integrated approach at Union level: manage legal immigration, strengthen integration and at the same time prevent illegal immigration in partnership with the third countries most concerned. This is why I will tomorrow be tabling a communication designed to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of our action.

Legal immigration contributes to our prosperity. It must – and can - be managed in such a way as to protect the interests of all parties and to treat individuals with due respect, provided we are equipped with the right instruments and immigrants have a clear and suitable status. Two proposals on legal immigration are currently being discussed: the "European blue card" for highly qualified workers and the "one-stop shop". Two others will follow, on seasonal workers, and on intra-corporate transferees and paid trainees. These are matters on which Parliament, whatever the legal context, must play its full role and be listened to.

We must encourage legal immigrants’ efforts to integrate. At both European and national levels, financing should be available for real integration and anti discrimination policies.

It is essential that we reinforce at the same time the instruments for combating illegal immigration. We need to base ourselves on a wide range of initiatives, such as tighter checks at external borders, tougher measures against illegal employment and against human trafficking and an effective and compassionate return policy applied in partnership with third countries.

On the question of tightening controls at external borders, I will pursue the work launched in the February 2008 communications.

The mobility of bona fide travellers in the European Union must be accompanied by effective measures to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking.

Another reason why I am in favour of forceful measures to combat illegal immigration is that it opens the door to all kinds of abuse, to exploitation of the defenceless and to new forms of slavery.

2/ Working towards a European asylum system

The European ideal also demands active solidarity with the victims of war and persecution, refugees and asylum-seekers.

The foundations of the common European asylum system are in place, but much still remains to be done. Tomorrow, therefore, I will be presenting a new Policy Plan on Asylum. It will comprise six specific legislative proposals. This autumn I will be presenting proposals for amendments to the "Eurodac" and "Dublin" regulations and to the Reception Conditions directive. They will be followed by proposals to set up an Asylum Support Office to reinforce solidarity and cooperation, and on the Procedures and Conditions to be fulfilled in order to be granted asylum.

Together these proposals will constitute the innovative and ambitious structure for what will eventually become a true common asylum system for Europe, based on solidarity.

III – Making full use of all the levers of the Community method

Let me say something about the way I propose to work.

In using all the levers available to me, whether they derive from the Community method or from other instruments, I wish to involve the European Parliament closely, as I have been doing for the last four years.

As regards legislative proposals and the work programme, I shall present a draft annual JLS work programme to the College in spring 2009. I will fully involve Parliament in the preparatory discussions on this new programme.

As regards the implementation of the budget, the JLS budget for 2007-2013 is now quite considerable. Implementation is not easy and is held up by the change in the scope of this policy. I shall come and report to you as often as necessary, both before your committees and before the Committees on Budgets and on Budgetary Control.

As guardian of the Treaty, I will attach as much importance to monitoring and effective implementation of the existing rules as to drafting new proposals. I will make use of the infringement procedures. I will study the improvements needed to extend the scope of the control exercised by the Court of Justice. I will continue to make public the scoreboard on implementation of the Tampere and The Hague programmes. I will come before your committees, if you so wish, to present the state of play in the various procedures under way to monitor application of the Treaty.

I will be fully and personally involved in the conduct of international negotiations, as I was for the Open Skies agreement between Europe and the USA. I am thinking here in particular of the visa waiver and readmission agreements. In accordance with the inter-institutional rules, I will keep Parliament abreast of developments in these negotiations.