Written Answers. - EU Summit Proposal.
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:
83
Ms O'Sullivan
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the position Ireland will adopt at the forthcoming EU Summit in Finland regarding the proposal to establish an area of freedom, justice and human rights; if he will lay any preparatory documents prepared by his Department before Dáil Éireann; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17962/99]
The Treaty of Amsterdam contains a commitment to maintain and develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice. With a view to ensuring that this was given early practical effect, the Council and the European Commission were requested to submit an action plan on how best to implement these important provisions. The Vienna European Council in December 1998 considered and approved the action plan which contained proposals in relation to co-operation in the field of civil and criminal law, and in regard to asylum and immigration. As a further indication of the importance which the Union attaches to progress is this area, it was agreed during the Austrian Presidency that a Special European Council devoted to justice and home affairs issues should take place at Tampere, Finland on 15/16 October. This will be only the second occasion in which a Special European Council has been convened devoted to a single topic.
Ireland has participated actively in preparations for the Tampere meeting. These have included discussions at the General Affairs Council on 13 September, and at the informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers on 16/17 September which was attended by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy John O'Donoghue. These will be continued this evening when the President of the European Council, Prime Minister Lipponen of Finland visits Dublin for discussions with the Taoiseach, and is expected to provide an update on preparations for the summit.
With the Amsterdam Treaty, and its provisions on Justice and Home Affairs, now in effect, the Presidency, with support from member states including Ireland, have suggested that Tampere should focus on a number of central issues aimed at strengthening co-operation in the fields of immigration and asylum, the fight against cross- border crime and the establishment of a European judicial area, including ensuring improved access to justice on a Union-wide basis. Recognising that Tampere also provided a valuable opportunity to bring the Union closer to its citizens, we have urged that Tampere should provide an impetus to efforts by the European Union to tackle issues such as crime prevention, violence against women, youth crime and co-operation in the fight against drug-trafficking. In terms of responding to organized crime, we have drawn attention to our legislation aimed at combating money laundering, and the effective work of the Criminal Assets Bureau.
As regard immigration and asylum, we have supported the view expressed by the Finnish Presidency on the need for a more coherent cross-pillar approach by the European Union, one which ensures that the Union and member states act in a co-ordinated manner. This would facilitate careful consideration of the reasons for, as well as the consequences of, immigration, and ensure that Community policies take into account the root causes of migration flows.
The Treaty of Amsterdam also re-affirms that the laws of the European Union are guided by the fundamental rights and freedoms established by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to which each member state of the Union is a party.
In order to spell out more clearly the rights and freedoms to which the Union subscribes and on which those resident in the territory are entitled to call, the European Council meeting in Cologne on 3-4 June 1999 decided that a body should be set up to formulate a Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Council envisaged that such a Charter would "contain the fundamental rights and freedoms as well as basic procedural rights guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and derived from the constitutional traditions common to the member States, as general principles of Community law".
It was also decided that the drafting body would comprise representatives of the institutions of the Union (Commission, European Parliament, European Court of Justice) and national Parliaments. The Heads of State and Government of the member states are to nominate representatives to the body. Consideration of these nominations is currently under way.
The working methods to be adopted by the body are being discussed at present by the General Affairs Council which is expected, at its meeting of 11 October, to make recommendations to the special session of the European Council in Tampere on 15-16 October. The European Council should then be in a position to request the body to begin substantive work on the drafting of the Charter which would be formally adopted by the European Council meeting to be held during the French Presidency towards the end of the year 2000.
The human rights unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs – in co-operation with the legal division – has been actively involved in the preparatory stages of this initiative, which commenced during the German Presidency of the EU earlier this year. Now that we are approaching the substantive or drafting stage, the Human Rights Unit will continue to monitor this matter closely and will work with the Taoiseach's representative on the drafting body in order to ensure that Ireland's human rights perspectives are expressed during the drafting of this Charter.
We look forward to further discussion about all aspects of the Tampere meeting with Prime Minister Lipponen later today. Because of the on-going nature of the discussions, it is not feasible to circulate detailed documentation about the meeting. However, I will consider further, once the agenda is finalized, how best to keep the House informed of developments in the run-up to Tampere, and information on the outcome of the Special European Council will, of course be made available to the House in the normal fashion.
