Vol. 516 No. 5
87 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will raise, at the forthcoming Heads of State Summit in Portugal in June, the problem of serious crime emanating from countries in central and eastern Europe, some of which are applicants for EU membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7817/00]
It is not the intention to raise at the Feira European Council in June the issue of serious crime emanating from countries in central and eastern Europe, which includes countries presently applying for EU membership.
The Deputy will recall that this matter was dealt with at the Special European Council in Tampere last October which was devoted to issues within the justice and home affairs sphere. Among the conclusions at Tampere was the affirmation of the people's right to expect the Union to address the threat to their freedom and legal rights posed by serious crime. The conclusions also emphasised the common effort needed to prevent and fight crime and criminal organisations throughout the Union.
The European Union is currently developing an EU strategy for the prevention and control of organised crime for the beginning of the new millennium. A specific chapter of the strategy document focuses on strengthening co-operation with the Accession countries.
The European Union member states and the accession countries of central and eastern Europe are already co-operating in the fight against serious crime. A pre-accession pact on organised crime has been adopted and a pre-accession pact expert group meets to discuss matters of common interest. EU programmes are being utilised to strengthen co-operation with the accession countries in the area of the fight against organised crime.
An EU collective evaluation working group has been systematically evaluating the actual-practical situation in the accession countries on the enactment, application and effective implementation of the justice and home affairs acquis.
