Brussels, 06/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has proposed to the Council that the Community as such, along side its Member States, sign the United Nations Convention against transnational organised crime and its Protocols on combating trafficking in persons (especially women and children), and the smuggling of migrants by land, air and sea.
The Council had authorized the Commission to negotiate the UN Convention, for those aspects under Community competence, as well as its three Protocols (combating the trafficking in persons, trafficking in migrants, the illicit manufacture and trafficking in firearms and munitions), Commissioner Antonio Vitorino explained when presenting the proposals on Tuesday to the EP's Committee in Public Freedoms. Negotiations were successful except for the Protocol on the trafficking in firearms, Vitorino pointed put, adding: "Under the terms of the negotiations conducted by the Commission, the proposals for a Convention and protocols provide for the possibility of a regional economic integration organisation, and thus the European Community, being able to join".
The Commissioner announced that the Convention's signing conference and that of its Protocols would be held in Palermo from 12 to 15 December 2000. Member States have declared their intentions of proceeding with this signature, and it is important that the EC can do likewise. For that, Vitorino went on, "the Commission is preparing a proposal for a decision enabling the Council Presidency to designate people able to sing the Convention and its Protocols on behalf of the EC. These Protocols are of great importance, as they are the first global legal instruments to combat the trafficking in persons; they will establish minimum standards in the field relating to definitions, rules on prevention, training, protection of victims, criminalisation, technical cooperation, exchange of information and repatriation". He then concluded: "as the two Protocols, together with the Convention itself, allow for the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral implementing agreements, there will be the possibility, as soon as the Protocols take effect, for future cooperation between the EU and third countries or groups of countries such as China or the countries of North America".