A3-0058/94

Resolution on terrorism and its effects on security in Europe

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its resolution of 18 April 1985 on measures to combat terrorism,

-having regard to its resolution of 11 July 1985 on air traffic safety and international terrorism,

-having regard to its resolution of 11 September 1986 on terrorism,

-having regard to the opinions of the Trevi Group of 28 April 1987,

-having regard to its resolution of 10 March 1988 on acts of terrorism against civil aviation,

-having regard to its resolution of 26 May 1989 on problems relating to combating terrorism,

-having regard to its resolution of 13 June 1991 on murders committed by terrorists in the Community,

-having regard to its resolution of 22 January 1993 on the setting up of Europol,

-having regard to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union, particularly Article K.1(7) and (9) and Article K.3(2) thereof,

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security and the opinions of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs (A3-0058/94),

A.whereas terrorism, regardless of its motives, is a threat to peace, democracy and human rights and is a grave problem in several Member States of the European Union,

B.recognizing that terrorism in the European Union crosses intra-Union and extra-Union borders,

C.whereas the objective of European legal integration is not yet in sight and whereas, although the basic principles of the judicial systems of the countries of Europe are alike, their laws are not necessarily identical,

D.whereas despite legal differences, a substantial effort has been made by European police forces to ensure effective coordination while respecting the rights of the ordinary person,

E.noting that the setting up of the first components of Europol in The Hague will enhance the fight against drug trafficking throughout the continent and contribute to the fostering of common work procedures between national police forces to combat all kinds of delinquency,

F.whereas the Member States of the European Union have incorporated in the process of European integration a 'third pillar', which includes judicial cooperation on criminal matters and police cooperation in combating terrorism,

G.whereas the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, which was ratified by all the Member States of the Union and entered into force in 1978, and the aim of which is to facilitate the extradition of terrorists, represents the key element in cooperation between judicial authorities in this field; whereas, however, as noted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in its Recommendation 1170 (1991), the Convention has a number of manifest weaknesses which should be eliminated,

1.Reiterates its condemnation of terrorism for the deaths, mutilation, misery and material destruction it causes and as detrimental to the harmonious development of European society, since it entails an increase in the monitoring of persons and their movements and consequently runs counter to the attainment of objectives sought by the European Union;

2.Recognises that while terrorism can never be justified in a free and democratic society, it often has deep historical roots and cannot be eradicated by police measures alone;

3.Believes it is necessary to tackle and solve without delay political, ethnic/national, social and ecological problems and to remove any sources of tension that could provide apparent justification and encourage a degree of support for terrorist actions and groups;

4.Considers that, from this time onwards, all available means at national level must be permanently employed to neutralize and prevent the destabilization of the countries of Europe, and insists that the Member States of the European Union must coordinate their anti-terrorist policies at the political and police levels;

5.Stresses that this coordination must be subject to parliamentary scrutiny, both by the European Parliament and by the parliaments of Member States;

6.Considers that the legislation in force in the states of the European Union must ensure that strict respect for democratic legality and the legal maintenance of civil rights is matched, so far as possible, with the necessary efficiency;

7.Stresses that all anti-terrorist policies must be subject to the rule of law;

8.Considers that, in the necessary struggle against terrorism, recourse should not normally be had to exceptional laws and measures, which could compromise the superiority of states governed by the rule of law over any kind of force, and that any abuse committed by official or irregular state bodies in this respect must be severely condemned and punished;

9.States that in European countries, which are based on the rule of law, no ideology can any longer justify terrorist activities, which should be pursued and punished as criminal offences;

10.Insists on the duty of all Member States to respect the European and international legal conventions against terrorism;

11.Calls on the Council of the Union to draw up and adopt a common position on the necessary reform of the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism;

12.Considers that such a reform should at least eliminate the Convention's major weaknesses, i.e.:

(a)the fact that it does not define the use of non-automatic firearms as an extraditable offence;

(b)the option for contracting states to express reservations when signing the Convention, thus enabling extradition to be refused in cases where the contracting state regards the act in question as a political offence;

13.States that it is legitimate to pursue terrorists working for foreign powers within the territory of the countries of Europe and to punish them in accordance with the law;

14.Considers it of vital importance that the media should not give undue prominence to or show complacency towards terrorist acts or groups; considers acceptable the broadening of actions to combat terrorism to include all economic, political and diplomatic sanctions against countries which support terrorism, in order to dissuade them;

15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and to the Council of Europe.