Brussels, 09/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament has adopted with a very large majority and few amendments the reports that were submitted to it concerning judicial and police cooperation (EUROPE of 3 April, p.12, and 4 April, p.15). The plenary thus approved:
- making damage to the environment a criminal offence. It called for it to be founded on Community law and not the Treaty of the European Union, which was welcomed by Commissioner Vitorino. The Di Lello Finnoli report was adopted as proposed by the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights (439 for, 64 against), and the Oomen-Ruitjen report almost without change (no nominal vote, an amendment by the EPP-ED proposes to mention extradition for the most serious offences "if national legislation of a Member State thus provides".
- the creation of a network of contact points for combating genocide and war crimes (Kirkhope report, no amendments).
- the merger into a single text of five judicial and police cooperation programmes (Coelho report, 451 to 22 with 38 abstentions).
- the Deprez report (457 votes for, 19 against and 40 abstentions) marking his support for the Belgian proposal for national information points responsible for security at international football matches, with few changes (reducing the exchange of data to those who have antecedents, noting the fact that a country may have several national teams, and providing for the assistance of an interpreter free of charge). The EP has only advisory opinion on such issues, except for the Oomen-Ruitjen report which is the subject of codecision procedure.