Strasbourg, 16/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - With its adoption -in a vote of 344 to 107, with 27 abstentions- of the report by British Liberal Andrew Duff and Austrian Green Johannes Voggenhuber, Parliament welcomed the drafting of a Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It stated that the charter should be "seeen as the central element of a process culminating in the European Union's adoption of a constitution" (349 to 109, 22 abstentions). Parliament observed that with the establishment of a written European catalogue of basic rights, the process of European integration would be placed on more solid legal and ethical foundations, the common base in terms of rule of law would be made more concrete and there would be greater clarity and transparency for citizens. The EP insisted that the charter must not replace or weaken Member State legislation on human rights. In a vote of 400 to 20, with 68 abstentions, Parliament called for a legally binding charter written into the EU Treaty. It asked the Intergovernmental Conference to amend the Treaty with a view to: (1) enabling EU adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), (2) adding the charter and the essential ILO and UN conventions to the reference to the ECHR in Article 6 of the Treaty. For more on this report, see EUROPE of 2 March, page 3.
During debate, rapporteur Mr Duff (Liberal, UK) said: "We want to draft a charter of such excellence that Member States would be ashamed not to adopt it". He added that the charter "represents a chance to build a modern post-national society". Recalling that the history of Europe has been marred by wars, the second rapporteur Mr Voggenhuber noted that democracy and human rights are the only values that can "serve as the foundation for European unity". The charter must reiterate the principle of the inviolability of human dignity. It must be binding so as to guarantee effective protection of citizens from possible abuse by institutions whose powers are continually growing, he explained.
Inigo Mendez de Vigo (EPP, Spain) voiced the support of the EPP/ED group. The charter will not duplicate the European Convention on Human Rights and will boost the level of protection of citizens. "This charter must contribute to the political and social integration upon which the Union has embarked", said French Socialist Pervenche Beres, asserting that it would have to apply not only to Union citizens but also to permanent residents and all those temporarily residing in EU territory. She argued for the charter to be incorporated into the Treaty. "The charter must not simply copy all or part" of the ECHR, said Mrs Beres, insisting on recognition of a number of economic and social rights. Dutch Liberal Bob van den Bos said the need for a charter is more political than legal and he called for it to strengthen the rights already guaranteed by the ECHR. French Green Alima Boumediene-Thiery said the charter must become "the founding element of the European identity". It should "develop a European resident citizenship", giving third country nationals the right to vote in local and European elections and ensuring better protection of personal data in the context of the extension of judicial and police cooperation. Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (GUE, Germany) explained that the charter should strengthen democracy and give meaning to Europe so that citizens can "say yes to the European undertaking". She argued for a binding charter that includes the rights to employment, housing, health and education. Georges Berthu (UEN, France) called for a brief political declaration recalling fundamental values, whereas the charter as it is being envisioned would serve only to "disguise the beginnings of a constitution" and would reduce citizens' rights, particularly insofar as the people of a given country would no longer be able to change their rights without the endorsement of the 14 other states. Francesco Speroni (Lega Nord) expressed support for the charter, which should not be limited to individual rights alone but should also recognise the rights of peoples and communities in relation to the centralising will of nation-states. It should guarantee the right of secession (and result in repeal of Article 241 of Italy's criminal code, which establishes a prison sentence for activities promoting secession).
Council Presidency and Commission favour a binding charter
written into the Treaty
"The charter is an essential step towards the creation of a foundation of basic values making it possible to pursue construction of a political Europe", said Council President Francsico Seixas da Costa, speaking of an "ethical pillar that will make the Union credible in the eyes of citizens". He also stressed the importance of this exercise in the context of enlargement.
The problems that arose during discussions should be overcome, mainly adherence to the ECHR and the determination of the Charter's beneficiaries. The Portuguese Presidency is in favour of an ambitious approach, according to which "citizens may call for consecration of economic and social rights as well as new rights linked to the functioning of the modern society". Noting that the adoption of a purely declaratory Charter would only be "politically correct", he took a stance in favour of a legally binding text which must be taken up in the work of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) so that the latter's result will be more balanced.
Commissioner Antonio Vitorino said that every effort possible should be made to allow examination of this Charter by the IGC and by the European Council of Nice. The Commission shares the Parliament's positions on the binding nature of the Charter, its inclusion in the Treaty and the broad range of rights that it should guarantee, explained the Commissioner, urging for a clear text that citizens will be able to read and understand easily, but which is also sufficiently rigorous. The future Charter should update the rights already contained in the ECHR and include social rights and innovative rights. The European Council of Cologne had provided for the Charter to be addressed to the EU Institutions and Member States in the context of transposition and application of Community law, but Mr Vitorino stressed that the Council of Tampere defined beneficiaries as being EU citizens and residents of third countries. "The Charter will replace neither national constitutions nor the European Convention on Human Rights", concluded the Commissioner.