29 March 2004
The Prime Minister said that the UK will seek to negotiate a successful conclusion under the Irish Presidency.
Watch the Prime Minister deliver his statement to Parliament
Read the transcript of his statement below
[check against delivery]
With permission, Mr Speaker, I shall make a statement about the European Council which I attended in Brussels on 25/26 March. I should like to pay tribute to the excellent organisation and chairmanship of the Irish Presidency and of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in particular.
We met in the aftermath of the bomb attacks in Spain. We expressed our sympathy and solidarity with the government and people of Spain. Cooperation in the fight against terrorism in Europe was stepped up after September 11th with the establishment of joint investigation teams, the freezing of terrorists’ assets, the establishment of the European arrest warrant and a number of measures of cooperation with the United States and other countries. But we recognised not nearly enough has been done especially on implementation of agreements, the provision of information to EUROPOL and cooperation with third countries. At this European Council we have set deadlines for the implementation of EU measures. We set out further measures on counter-terrorist legislation in all member states, confiscation of crime related proceeds, creating a comprehensive database of forensic material, strengthening border controls, better intelligence sharing, transport security and a number of other matters listed in the text we adopted at the Council. We have appointed a single person to coordinate the Union’s work in this area and are establishing a new counter-terrorism intelligence assessment cell so that we will have the means of assessing intelligence, combined with effective police cooperation through Europol and cooperation among prosecuting authorities via Eurojust.
I briefed my colleagues in the European Council on my visit earlier on 25 March to Libya. I made clear to Colonel Qadhafi our support for Libya’s decision to abandon voluntarily its WMD programmes, and our welcome for the full and transparent cooperation which Libya had subsequently given.
Libya’s actions in the past have caused grief and pain to many individuals and families, which we cannot forget. I raised Lockerbie and WPC Fletcher with Colonel Qadhafi, stressing the importance of the forthcoming visit to Libya by the Metropolitan Police team investigating WPC Fletcher’s murder. We shall stay in close touch with the families in both cases. But if change in Libya is real, we should support it. It is the beginning of a process, and we should take it step-by-step. But I believe that a Libya free of WMD and with no links to terrorism is overwhelmingly in our interest and it is right to pursue this dialogue, and we will.
What has happened over the last few weeks has reinforced the determination of all member governments in Europe to equip a Union of twenty-five member states to be able to operate efficiently and effectively. As Honourable Members will see from the conclusions, the Council took substantive decisions on growth, employment, research and development and on how to equip our citizens with the education, training and access to lifelong learning which are vital if Europe is to maintain its competitive edge.
But it is already clear that in a Europe of 25 and then of 28, decision making cannot remain as it is. The result would be paralysis of Europe and an inability to make progress in vital areas of cooperation that are emphatically in the British national interest. We need to be better able to set priorities, pass simpler laws, and have a completely different system for the day-to-day running of the European Union. That includes governments setting the strategic direction in the European Council with a full time chairman of the Council, chosen by governments, to take forward their programme. In almost every field: job creation, sustainable development, the environment, the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration and organised crime, we need to work together as one in the European Union. That is what the Constitutional Treaty is about and we shall seek to negotiate it to a successful conclusion under the Irish Presidency. Britain will ensure that we keep control over our tax and social security systems, over the future of the UK abatement, over our own criminal justice system and over defence and foreign policy, as we have said we would. Provided we do so, this Treaty is right for Europe and right for Britain because, in today’s world, particularly after the events of recent months, Europe needs to work more effectively to protect and enhance the lives of our people.
The European Council gave its continued strong support to the efforts of the UN Secretary General to bring about a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. This is a historic opportunity to end the long division of the Island and we urge all the parties to seize it.
The European Council welcomed the recent positive political developments in Iraq and the UN Secretary General’s acceptance of the Iraqi Government Council’s invitation to help. It condemned, however, the recent terrorist attacks in Iraq which have had as their aim maximising civilian casualties. The European Council also expressed grave concern over the situation in the Middle East.
The European Council strongly condemned the recent ethnically motivated violence in Kosovo. All leaders locally must now take responsibility for the situation to ensure there is no repetition.
Mr Speaker, by negotiating within the European Union we have succeeded in establishing common policies to deal with terrorism, crime and illegal immigration. We are taking forward a programme of economic reform, long overdue. We have a common European stance to deal with the challenge of climate change. Last year in the context of the WTO negotiations we achieved the biggest ever reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, not enough but a substantial step forward. We are developing a common foreign and security policy to tackle the common global threats we face. Our security, stability and prosperity depend upon our successful membership of the European Union. Under this Government it will not be put at risk.
delicious
digg
facebook
