Brussels, 12/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 October, MEPs discussed the Stockholm Programme ahead of the adoption of an EP resolution next month. The Stockholm Programme is the third of its type. It lays down the structure and guidelines for EU policy on police, border, customs, justice, asylum, immigration and visa issues for 2010-2014. The draft resolution will set out the European Parliament's contribution to the formal adoption of the Stockholm Programme at the European summit in December 2009.
The European Parliament will become an EU codecision body if the Lisbon Treaty is adopted and will therefore have to “win respect” by working more closely with national parliaments, explained the chair of the EP's civil liberties committee, Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, Spain). National parliamentarians should get more directly involved with the peoples of Europe, which is particularly important under the subsidiarity principle, explained the chair of the constitutional affairs committee, Carlo Casini (EPP, Italy). Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) said that it would be useful for the draft resolution to make it clear what exactly the powers of national parliaments should be. The chair of the legal affairs committee, Luigi Berlinguer (S&D, Italy), said the Stockholm Programme aimed to strike a balance between the need for security (avoiding the danger of going too far) and respect for rights that has been built up over so many years now. Malta's Simon Busuttil (EPP) explained that the EPP wanted a more secure Europe and regretted that the security focus of the draft resolution seemed to have been watered down. He called for strong solidarity in deeds, rather than words. The UK's Claude Moraes (S&D) also stressed the need for solidarity, which needed beefing up in the draft resolution, saying that while it was “balanced”' new mechanisms would be needed for asylum. German Green Jan Philipp Albrecht regretted the resolution's lack of balance, the ever greater number of preventative measures and the fact that he did not feel that proportionality had been ensured. Mario Borghezio (EFD, Italy) regretted the document's failure to provide a “judicial response” to terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. He urged legislators to closely examine the possible links between terror organisations and human trafficking. A representative of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU said that as a result of necessity or a result of strong views, the Presidency would be focussing on fundamental rights like the EU's membership of the European Convention of Human Rights and increasing transparency and openness in decision-making. He said the Council would be looking more closely at security and justice issues because there was still a threat to security in Europe. A representative for the European Commission said there would be more democracy in the future in the area of freedom, justice and security because when the Lisbon Treaty comes into force, there will be greater scrutiny by the European Parliament and greater judicial control by the European Court of Justice. The resolution will be voted upon by MEPs in committee on 12 November and by the plenary in late November. (B.C./transl.fl)