Action of European institutions in favour of human rights in partner countries would be more effective if Europe spoke with a single voice, EP says

Strasbourg, 20/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 13 December, the EU Council presented to the European Parliament its annual report on human rights covering the period from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. The report does not give a complete picture of the human rights situation in the world, Geoffrey William Hoon admitted for the Council, but, he went on to say, it does have the advantage of clearly showing European citizens what EU priorities are when it comes to the protection of human rights and how this fits in with the various European policies. All Community agreements contain a human rights clause, giving the EU a positive instrument with which to improve the situation in partner countries, the Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said. The agreements may be suspended in the event of human rights violations, a sanction that does not apply systematically but which is used with moderation, Ms Ferrero-Waldner and Mr Hoon warned. The report also seeks to analyse the difficulties and shortcomings of EU intervention, such as the dialogue with China which had such little impact on the human rights situation, deplored Richard Howitt, British Labour member, who felt the EU perhaps does not place sufficient importance on human rights in its trade relations.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, who was convinced that “the more the European Union, its Member States and its institutions speak with a single voice, the stronger the political impact will be”, was backed by MEPs who call for greater cooperation between institutions. After the fashion of Simon Coveney (EPP-ED, Ireland) and Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France), MEPs even call for a single annual report to be drafted for the EU, collecting together the views put forward by the European Parliament, Council and Commission. In order to establish a “flow of information between institutions” from now on, Hélène Flautre, Chair of the Human Rights Sub-Committee, suggests, for example, that the Council should forward to the EP its fact sheets on the human rights situation in third countries.