Brussels, 12/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - With their vote in Brussels on Thursday 12 October on the reports by EPP Hungarian member Kinga Gal and Hungarian Socialist Magda Kosane Kovacs, the European Parliament took a clear stance in favour of creating a European Fundamental Rights Agency. The agency would have vast scope for action, but would be conceived in a way that it does not infringe upon the competences of the Council of Europe. After having rejected by an overwhelming majority (91 in favour, 505 against and 21 abstentions in the case of the report by Ms Kosane Kovacs) two rejection motions by the IND/DEM Group, the Parliament adopted all the amendments submitted to it by the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms. At the request of the two rapporteurs and with the assent of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Franco Frattini, the Parliament, which is only consulted on this matter, then referred the two reports back to parliamentary committee so that the Council would improve the text of the regulation on the creation of the agency and that of the decision authorising the agency to exercise its activities in the field of police and legal cooperation. In response to Ms Gal, Franco Frattini admitted that the Council still has some difficulties to overcome regarding some aspects of the texts and that it will take time to convince the Council to move closer to the Parliament's position.
Following its rapporteurs, the Parliament takes a stance in favour of the future agency having a broad scope to cover not only fundamental rights but also racist and xenophobic phenomena, as the Vienna Observatory did before it. Its activities would include examination of European legislation and implementation of EU law from the point of view of respect of fundamental rights, but also - at the behest of Council, Commission and Parliament - of the opinions to be issued on thematic subjects or in the context of Article 7 of the Treaty on an EU Member State. The initial Commission proposal reserved this right for the Council as it is the Council that is the main player in suspending the rights of Member States for failure to comply with the fundamental principles set out in Article 6 (the Parliament only gives assent). The Parliament also hopes the agency will provide opinions on respect of fundamental rights in countries applying for membership and in those which are linked to the EU by an association and/or stabilisation agreement. Although it restricts the agency's scope of intervention, this provision still causes fear at the Council of Europe, the main guardian of human rights in the Europe of forty-six. The secretary general of the organisation restated this fact to Franco Frattini in Brussels on Tuesday. Terry Davis said “it is wrong to want to include other countries” because it can but weaken the Council of Europe and duplication of this kind causes an unnecessary additional burden on taxpayers. One is also entitled to ask how around fifty officials - at the Council of Europe, some 800 persons (out of a total of 1700) work directly on human rights - will be able to tackle all this work head-on. The task of the agency will be enormous as it will have to: - collect, classify, analyse and diffuse information and relevant, objective, reliable and comparable data, including the results of research and controls communicated by Member States, the Union institutions, research centres, national bodies, NGOs, third countries, the Council of Europe and the other international organisations; - develop methods and standards with a view to better comparability; - carry out and facilitate research, studies and inquiries; - formulate opinions and conclusions; - make its technical competence available to the Parliament and Council; - publish an annual report and thematic reports; - develop a strategy of communication and encourage dialogue with the civil society, especially through a platform on fundamental rights. With its amendments, the Parliament nonetheless stresses that the agency should take into account the work of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the United Nations. The Council of Europe obtains a seat on the Management Board (without voting rights on the budget of the agency or on the management of its personnel) and an observer seat on the Executive Board. The Parliament also seeks to strengthen its weight within the structures of the agency and the procedure for appointing its present and managing director. Finally, it can add detailed precisions to the text to ensure that the agency is independent.
During the debate, the rapporteurs stressed that the Agency should above all deal with the impact of Community legislation but that it must also be able to issue opinions on third countries. Magda Kosane Kovacs recalled that the creation of this agency has been on the table for three years now but that there is still no agreement between the Member States in Council. She called for an independent, responsible, effective and transparent agency. In his response, Franco Frattini said it is important for the Parliament to speak out clearly so that the Council does not have the impression it can decide all on its own. “It is said that this would cost €150 million annually. That's wrong”, exclaimed the vice-president, pointing out that the agency's budget should be €14 million in 2007 and €21 million in 2010. In 2007, the agency should have 50 officials, i.e. 10 times more than the current observatory or the number of people in a small commune, Franco Frattini said, saying this is very reasonable given the importance of human rights. The Council of Europe “will continue to do what it does” and does not have the power to deal with EU law, which is to be the main aim of the agency, the Commission vice-president said. (oj)