A3-0421/93

Resolution on Community accession to the European Convention on Human Rights

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Joint Declaration of 5 April 1977 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on Fundamental Rights,

-having regard to the preamble to the Single European Act,

-having regard to the preamble to and Articles F(2), K.2(1) and J.1(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 130u(2) of the EC Treaty,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Dublin European Council meeting on 28 and 29 June 1992,

-having regard to the Commission communication of 19 November 1990 on Community Accession to the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (SEC(90)2087 - C3-0022/93),

-having regard to the declaration adopted in Vienna on 9 October 1993 at the Council of Europe Member State Summit,

-having regard to its resolution of 11 March 1993 on respect for human rights in the European Community,

-having regard to its resolution of 21 April 1993 on the resurgence of racism and xenophobia in Europe and the danger of right-wing extremist violence,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinions of the Committee on Institutional Affairs and the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs (A3-0421/93),

A.recalling that respect for and the promotion of fundamental rights constitutes a constant concern of the Union and serves as a guiding principle for its internal and external relations; this basic tenet, aimed at creating a scale of inalienable and lasting human values, underpins Union action and plays a vital symbolic role, in particular with regard to the development of the Union's relations with third countries based on agreements which systematically include a human rights clause,

B.pointing out that development of the Union is no longer merely a question of promoting the Member States' economic progress, but primarily entails the setting-up of an area where peace prevails and whose aim is the political, economic, social and cultural well-being of the individual and that, in this perspective, the very success of this European project depends on respect for and the promotion of human rights, as they ought to be perceived at this stage in the 20th century, it being understood that the individual must be considered the main beneficiary of efforts to achieve European integration,

C.whereas the democratic legitimacy of European integration requires a full coherent legal system in tandem with appropriate legal protection of fundamental rights,

D.recalling that, at the time of the adoption of the Single Act, the Member States stressed the importance of promoting democracy on the basis of fundamental rights, in particular those laid down in the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as ECHR); stressing that, in adopting the Treaty on European Union, the Union undertook to respect these rights as general principles of Community law,

E.whereas every possible effort should be made to enable individuals to be given all the necessary guarantees to ensure that their fundamental rights are not violated by the action of the institutions and Member States in the Community framework,

1.Stresses that, while it is true that the Community is a community based on the rule of the law, with a full set of means of appeal and procedures, in which the Court of Justice exercises supervisory powers in respect of the compliance of the acts of the Member States and the institutions with the 'Constitutional Charter', i.e. the Treaty, there will be gaps in the system for protecting fundamental rights until such time as the Community is subject to the monitoring procedures provided for under the ECHR in the same way as its Member States;

2.Considers that the extension of the Community's sphere of competence under the terms of the Treaty on European Union will result in increased interference in respect of fundamental rights of the individual through Community law, the actions of the Community and the legislation arising from them, and hence entails an increased risk of interference involving violations of fundamental rights and freedoms;

3.Notes that recent experience shows that the Court of Justice will be increasingly confronted with problems concerning the interpretation of the ECHR, with the risk that one and the same dispute will give rise to contradictory judgments by the two European courts, particularly in cases where the European Court of Human Rights has not yet established a case law;

4.Considers an assessment should be made of the advantages of giving individuals the possibility of bringing an action directly before an international court external to the Union, to determine whether a Community act or national implementing act is compatible with his or her fundamental rights as enshrined in the ECHR;

5.Considers that the introduction of this means of appeal should be seen as evidence of the Community's maturity, following the example of Member States and accepting that an act under its law be examined and, possibly, challenged by the ECHR bodies; in addition, this prospect would encourage Community institutions and the Member States to take preventive measures to ensure that Community legislation took due account of the ECHR and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights;

6.Recognizes, however, that the Community's accession to the ECHR raises political, institutional and legal problems; considers, nevertheless, that accession constitutes a step forward in the direction of the protection of the fundamental rights of individuals, provided that there is a high level of protection and that the appeal system set up operates rapidly and effectively; in this connection, there must be complete rejection of the idea that accession might be limited to the establishment of a system of cooperation between the two European courts whereby important issues concerning compatibility with the ECHR or the interpretation of a provision thereof could be referred for a preliminary ruling; considers that it is primarily the task of the Court of Justice to verify that the provisions of the ECHR are complied with in respect of the application of Community legislation and that, in a system based on federal principles, there is no reason why the Court of Justice, like the supreme courts of the Member

States, should not be subject to supervision by the European Court of Human Rights;

7.Notes with satisfaction that, at the Vienna Conference of 8 and 9 October 1993, the Council of Europe Heads of State and Government undertook to draw up a new protocol to the ECHR, which will be open for signature by the member states in May 1994, providing for the creation of a single, permanent European Court of Human Rights to replace existing monitoring bodies; notes that the aim of this reform is to make protection methods more effective, reduce the length of procedures and maintain a high level of human rights protection and, in this regard, would consider it a positive step if in future the Union influenced this development from within;

8.Considers Articles 235 EC, 203 EURATOM and 95 ECSC to be the appropriate legal bases for accession to the ECHR from the viewpoint of the preamble to the Single Act, which refers to the ECHR, the Member States' commitments in this area (contained in particular in the above-mentioned Joint Declaration of the three institutions of 5 April 1977 and in the Member States' Copenhagen Declaration of 8 April 1978 on democracy) and Articles F(2) and K.2(1) of the Treaty on European Union;

9.Agrees, in view of the above, that the Commission should receive authorization from the Council to negotiate with the Council of Europe on accession arrangements; the European Parliament, and in particular the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights, should be kept regularly informed of these negotiations;

10.Considers that the Community should express various reservations, pursuant to Article 64 of the ECHR, in particular as regards the scope of accession, which is restricted to areas within the Community's competence;

11.Considers that Community accession to the ECHR must not at any time affect the independence of the Court of Justice or its jurisdiction in matters relating to the European Community or, possibly, to other spheres of activity of the European Union;

12.Considers that accession of the Community to the ECHR jurisdictional procedures must not in any event make the system of appeals to the Court of Justice less speedy and efficient;

13.Takes the view that accession by the Community to the ECHR is a measure complementing the adoption by the Community of its own Declaration of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which would safeguard rights over and above those enshrined in the ECHR, and, given that the European Parliament adopted a declaration of this kind on 12 April 1989; takes the view that, in order to emphasize the complementary nature of the two approaches, the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament should, at the latest at the time of accession by the Community to the ECHR, sign a joint declaration endorsing the above-mentioned declaration of 12 April 1989 and advocate the ultimate incorporation of this declaration in the Treaties;

14.Calls on the Commission to submit a quarterly report to a plenary sitting of Parliament on the initiatives undertaken and the progress achieved in this area;

15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, and in particular their Ministers of Justice and of European Affairs.