Euro-MPs fight for fundamental rights

12.50.56pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 15th Sep 2006

MEPs in the European Parliament's Civil Liberties committee are strongly backing the creation of an independent EU fundamental rights agency, calling for it to have a strong mandate including issues relating to justice and policing.

The purpose of the Agency is to provide advice and expertise on human rights issues in Europe and report on whether EU institutions and Member States are keeping up to the mark. Due to start work from January 2007, it will to replace and incorporate the EU's anti-racism watchdog, the European Racism Monitoring Centre. While the EU is active in monitoring the civil rights and justice situation in third countries, it has so far lacked a similar mechanism closer to home.

London's Lib Dem MEP and European justice spokesperson Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed her committee's stance:

"It is vital for EU citizens to have guarantees that EU bodies and their own governments do not ride roughshod over their individual liberties when purporting to implement EU law. This agency will provide an important mechanism for ensuring the rights enshrined in EU treaties are enforced in practice."

But she added:

"Agreement may be derailed by the opposition of some member states including the UK to the agency monitoring European legal and police cooperation for respect of human rights. It is senseless to undermine the task of checking that organised crime and corruption are properly tackled in new member states."

"Excluding key issues such as human trafficking, race hate crime, or indeed CIA rendition and torture, from the agency's mandate would leave a big hole. If governments are already providing adequate protection for human rights, they have nothing to fear from the agency's oversight."

Note: A compromise between the Parliament and the Council was approved by 31 votes to 6. The item will be on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting of 5 and 6 October 2006. and is likely to be approved by the full European Parliament in October.