Strasbourg, 05/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - With several suspected terrorists having been arrested earlier this week in countries such as Germany and Denmark, the Portuguese presidency of the EU indicated on Wednesday that the post of “Terrorism Tsar” will soon be filled. The function of coordinator in charge of the fight against terrorism within the EU, which had been held until last March by Gijs de Vries, had been empty since then. “There has been a delay” in filling the post, Secretary of State for European Affairs Manuel Lobo Antunes acknowledged at a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “The presidency is committed to speeding up the debate within the Council and when the time comes, I am convinced that we will be able to announce the name of the new coordinator”, he added, speaking to MEPs who are concerned about the time that has been wasted. The head of EU diplomacy, Javier Solana, together with the member states is currently looking into the question of who could be the right candidate for the job. On the eve of the debate, French Secretary Of State for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet stated that this vacancy was “regrettable”, but other countries which did not voice an opinion in public did not see quite the same urgency. The MEPs are resolute, starting with the president of the EPP-ED, the French member Joseph Daul: “We call on the Council, on Mr Solana and Mr Barroso to appoint a new terrorism tsar with greater resources and more prerogatives”.
During the debate, the MEPs broadly took position in favour of the launch of a genuine strategy to fight terrorism, which will be clearer, pay more attention to fundamental rights and afford the Parliament a greater role. “There is no strategic document in the short, medium or long term. Only timely measures have been taken”, lamented Alexander Alvaro (ALDE, Germany). The Socialist Martine Roure (France) pleaded for an “assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of measures already taken in the fight against terrorism”. Mr Lobo Antunes acknowledged that in some cases, the assessment mechanisms have not yet been set in place, but that the Council would remedy this. For his part, the leader of the ALDE, the British MEP Graham Watson, considers that we must do “more to intensify mutual assistance to reinforce judicial cooperation” and even to set in place a “European FBI”. However, “the laws must remain proportional to the threats”, he stressed. “Have we done enough to develop the fight against terrorism and legal frameworks to ring-fence these laws?”, asked the Italian member Giusto Catania (GUE/NGL), one of the only ones not wishing to see the appointment of a new anti-terrorism coordinator. The Council came in for criticism from a number of quarters, particularly concerning the procedure establishing the “black” list of terrorist entities of the EU (EUROPE 9458). This kind of list “overturns” the principle of the presumption of innocence, said Kathalijne Buitenweg (Greens/EFA, Netherlands). Mr Lobo Antunes refuted this argument by stating that the Council had reformed the procedure allowing entities to be included on this list and had therefore violated Community law in no way. He also stated that a new Council working group would be tasked with the periodic revision of the list. Sarah Ludford (ALDE, UK) spoke out against the “deafening silence” from the Council and the Commission on the kidnappings and torture carried out within the framework of illegal CIA activities in Europe. Mr Lobo Antunes stated only that the fight against terrorism “will be fought solely in respect of fundamental rights”. (bc)