Policies

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Combating terrorism and organised crime

Terrorism and organised crime are an unacceptable threat to the security and stability of our societies. It is our duty to safeguard the strong European tradition of respect for the rule of law and to firmly combat these phenomena at all levels. To do this we must redouble our efforts not only within the EU but also externally, by increasing the effectiveness of police and judicial cooperation, since crime does not stop at borders. We shall commit to seek a major level of protection and security for our citizens. Guaranteeing public safety, however respecting fundamental rights at the same time, is one of the priorities of the EPP Group.

For the EPP Group, prevention of terroristic acts and the fight against terrorist systems is a very important part of the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Policy. Today, terrorism has become a major concern worldwide.

The priority for the Group has been the implementation of the European Arrest Warrant, the strengthening of the operational cooperation between Member States and the reinforcement of Europol by transforming it into a real European Agency. The role of EUROPOL will become more important in future.

To combat terrorism, the EPP Group considers that there must be increased cooperation between the Member States’ police services and also improved dialogue between the European Institutions. Moreover, to combat the threat of terrorism it is essential to establish a relation of confidence among European police. Therefore, our group supports the development of an Erasmus programme for police officers in training. Concerning third countries, it is extremely important not to break off relations with non-European countries, and this is why we must work closely together with the USA and Russia.

Modern information and communication technologies play an important role in the propagation of the terrorist threat. The Internet, in particular, is cheap, fast, and easily accessible and has a practically global reach. Our group supports the idea of approximating national provisions on public incitement to commit a terrorist offence, recruitment for terrorism and training for terrorism, so that these forms of behaviour are punishable throughout the EU, even when committed through the Internet, and ensuring that existing provisions on penalties, liability of legal persons, jurisdiction and prosecution applicable to terrorist offences, apply also to such forms of behaviour.

However, for the Group, combating terrorism is not confined to these last points alone. We must also tackle the the backgrounds of terrorism by addressing the financing of terrorist groups and be aware that the use of bioterrorism and its technological advances constitute a real danger to everyone. Europe shall promote the development of mechanisms to control the use of and trade in explosives, for example by the means of an early warning system in the case of robbery.

The EPP Group Is also committed to the prevention of crime and the avoidance of violence of all kinds. More cooperation must be realized when it comes to the exchange of information between Member States in cases of all crimes involving minors and missing persons. As has been said before, crime is nearly always of a transnational character; meaning that the security within the Union's borders depends on the level of security which surrounds us. In this respect, it is of major importance to enhance the cooperation with third countries. The liaison officers deployed outside the EU, play a major role in the prevention of crime and in the fight against various threats which we face.

Our Group considers that all measures to compensate and assist victims are very important and our group supports the idea of a European Charter of Victims' Rights.

Finally the EPP Group is highly committed to data protection and privacy. In this context, our Group seeks to strike the balance between efficient counter terrorism measures and respect for fundamental rights, privacy and data protection. Fighting terrorism in our view should never in itself be the curtail of the basic freedoms of citizens, and where such measures are taken, they must be well-justified, proportionate and time limited.


Increasing police and judicial cooperation

In all areas concerned with freedom, security and justice, the institutional framework must be simplified.

The EPP Group favours better collaboration in all aspects of police and judicial cooperation while respecting subsidiary. To this end, the Group hopes to:

• reinforce the role and funding of Eurojust, a system of cooperation between the courts of the various Member States, leading to the creation of a European court with a view to harmonising definitions of serious and transnational crimes;


• continue and improve the training of public prosecutors and investigating judges in the new Member States in all areas linked to judicial cooperation on crime;


• ensure adequate training of crime prevention units and increase their financial resources.