Paris, 7 December – The WEU Assembly called for “parliamentary support and scrutiny, both at the national and international levels”, in order to ensure that “the adoption of any counter-terrorism legislation liable to affect fundamental rights and freedoms is the result of a democratic process”.
 
Mr Lluis Maria de Puig (Spain, Socialist Group), who was presenting his report on “fighting international terrorism: a challenge for Europe”, referred to the ongoing debate on whether the imperatives of the fight against terrorism could lead to violations of fundamental freedoms. He said that while it was sometimes necessary for governments to take exceptional measures, these must be founded on the “legality and legitimacy” that could only be provided by parliamentary assemblies. Co-Rapporteur Bart van Winsen (Netherlands, Federated Group) for his part stressed the need to ensure a balance between our common values based on human rights and the means needed to combat terrorism.
 

The report deplored the fact that counter-terrorism policies were all too often confined to the national level. It stressed the “urgent need at EU level to overcome the paradox that the almost total absence of border controls within the Schengen area enables terrorists to cross frontiers unimpeded, while law enforcement officers remain hamstrung by national borders”.
 
It also stated that “notwithstanding the reticence of some national authorities with regard to the proposals for creating a European intelligence agency and the arguments contesting the usefulness of such a body, those proposals should be re-examined in a constructive spirit”. Mr van Winsen, for whom the fight against terrorism “should be one of the top priorities of the ESDP” thought that this issue should be placed on the agenda of the next Council of EU Defence Ministers.