Strasbourg, 26/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The issue of alleged “secret prisons” in Poland and Romania, where, it is claimed, US authorities questioned persons suspected of involvement in terrorism after 11 September 2001, was debated, on the basis of the report by Giovanni Claudio Fava (PES, Italy), by the European Parliament on Wednesday. Following 18 months of investigation (during which time he said he had used “secret” CIA sources), Dick Marty, a former Swiss prosecutor, reported to the Council of Europe on the interrogations alleged to have been conducted in these prisons.
Even though the Council has no competence in this area, Portuguese Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Manuel Lobo Antunes said straight away that there was not a single member state which did not want the truth to be found and an end put to the climate of suspicion. But, he said, the principle of subsidiarity had to be complied with. The treaty in force restricts the extent to which the EU can act, the Council presidency said. However, while Lobo Antunes could not come out one way or the other on the Fava and Marty reports, neither could he ignore them. He confirmed that the EU was committed to a “total ban” on torture and the use of degrading or humiliating practices. The issue of over planes over-flying or landing must also be investigated thoroughly by every member state. Portugal had taken initiatives to improve the situation in this area. Cooperation in combating terrorism remained a priority of the Portuguese and following presidencies, Lobo Antunes said, welcoming the appointment of a new coordinator.
The comments by Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini were better received by the Parliament. Even though Frattini said that the European Parliament did not have any power to open a judicial investigation and that an investigation could not be based on anonymous witness statements, he announced to the EP a raft of Commission initiatives: - the letters sent to the Polish and Romanian governments had not received an reply, but the Commission would inform the EP of any response as soon as it arrived; - the questionnaire to be sent by the Commission to all member states should provide an indication of the effectiveness of the action taken by each country to combat terrorism, and would be followed up by a report to the Council and Parliament; - with regard to air traffic, the Commission would bring forward a proposal for a better definition of a “state” aeroplane, which is not subject to the same controls as civil aeroplanes. He continued: - common rules on aeroplanes which enter European air space without a flight plan would also be drawn up for all member states; - the Commission would renew its call to countries which had not yet ratified the EU-USA extradition agreement; - monitoring of secret services was a delicate matter: even though it was the national response that carried the day, there were common requirements, including the strengthening of parliamentary control at national level. He ended by saying that, among fundamental rights, there was also the right to be accused only on the basis of properly gathered information.
Some MEPs felt that the Fava and Marty reports were biased. Among these was Jas Gawronski (Italy), for the EPP-ED, who asked that “magistrates and journalists, who have the means, be left to work”. While acknowledging that the US had made mistakes, he felt it was easy not to make mistakes when one does nothing to combat terrorism. A similar tone was adopted by the Union for a Europe of Nations, with Konrad Szymanski, who defended the Polish government, and the Independence and Democracy group, with Dutch MEP Johannes Blokland, who asked how much the temporary committee on secret detentions had cost. As might be expected, Fava, for the Socialist group, defended his report, highlighting that the arrests of 39 CIA agents in Italy was fact, and not opinion, and Ignasi Guardans Cambo (Spain), on behalf of the ALDE group, denounced the Council's “shameful” silence.
The EU must not bend the knee to the United States, added German MEP Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, for the GUE/NGL group, and her fellow countryman Cem Ozdemir, for the Greens/EFA, said he thought that, if we wanted results, there should be an end to subsidiarity in this area. Several MEPs were critical of governments' inaction: the Germans refused to extradite CIA agents, lamented Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France) and Irish MEP Proinsia de Rossa (PES) accused his government of facilitating the landing of 157 CIA planes. The abduction and transfer of passengers was not an invention; prosecutors in Munich and Milan had stated it happened, said Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (PES, Germany).
Commission Vice-President Frattini closed the debate by calling for confidence to be placed in each country's justice system, and also arguing for a strengthening of the “area of European sovereignty” so that the EU could be a stronger ally to the US. The single air space, which will come into effect on 1 January 2009, was a great step in that direction. (lg)