EU can't catch criminals with veto blockage

12.01.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 7th Jun 2007

Liberal Democrat European justice spokeswoman Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP has taken issue with the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report on EU justice and home affairs published today.

She said:

"MPs' desire to retain the veto on EU law enforcement measures is totally at odds with the need for action. It is burying one's head in the sand to will the ends - catching criminals - while refusing the means - a renunciation of the veto and a move to qualified majority voting and co-decision for MEPs."

"No-one could disagree with an emphasis on practical cooperation such as through Europol and exchanges of information, but that won't happen without some common rules such as on data protection, legal rights of defendants, definitions of serious crimes and so on. And EU member states fail to reach agreement on those precisely because of the national veto leading to gridlock in Brussels."

Baroness Ludford gave written evidence to the committee, in which she highlighted the practical benefits, in getting decisions which would facilitate cooperation, of transforming the handling of policing, judicial cooperation and criminal law measures from the present dysfunctional and undemocratic inter-governmental model requiring rarely-achieved 27-country unanimity to a Community decision-making

procedure.

"The committee's conclusions hostile to reforms in decision-making are all the more puzzling in that they recognise the danger whereby the veto means 'a small group of member states may reach an agreement between themselves which then is presented to the wider EU almost as a fait accompli'. In addition, MPs are largely cut out of the loop when measures are negotiated by officials and ministers, so they would do better to boost the role of Euro-MPs. Indeed, I welcome the committee's endorsement of MP-MEP coordination."

"As a British Liberal Democrat MEP I support and work for maximum possible UK involvement in Schengen procedures even while we are a non-member, and this will benefit the whole EU. But it is hardly realistic to expect the UK to enjoy full privileges of the club while refusing to accept the membership rules."