Brussels, 18/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - In an interview with a handful of journalists on Monday, the new President of the European Parliament's Liberal Group, Graham Watson, explained that the Liberals hoped to be trendsetters for Barcelona and the continuation of the Lisbon strategy, adding that they would try to make the Commission's proposals on the prospectus and market abuse "slightly less dirigist", the proposals being important for the realisation of a common market in services. They are expected to be voted upon in the March plenary (the rapporteurs are British Liberal Chris Huhne and Luxembourg Socialist Robert Goebbels). He said he was "not enamoured" with the Blair-Berlusconi approach, not because of the contents (which he feels go further the necessary liberalisation), but because they could be "divisive" when asked about last week's Anglo-Italian summit (see EUROPE of 15 February, p.14).
As one of the frontliners in the debate over the on terror as the President of the EP's Public Freedom's Committee, Mr Watson welcomed the decision taken by several Member States and announced in Santiago de Compostela to introduce the European arrest warrant next year, but said it "must not be at the expense of judicial guarantees. Member States must show the same urgency in implementing Commission proposals to ensure fair trial for defendants." He reiterated his criticism of US methods after 11 September (military tribunals and death penalty, etc) with regard to a potential US/EU agreement on judicial co-operation, saying the EU should provide its approach was preferable to the US's approach (see EUROPE of 16 February, p.8), insisting he didn't want to "stress what is divisive" but found it significant that in Santiago de Compostela, the French justice minister called for the two French nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay to be "returned" to the French legal system.