Activites

• 2002/06/22 Final act published in Official Journal
• #2436
• 2002/06/13 Council Meeting
• 2002/06/13 End of procedure in Parliament
• 2002/06/13 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 2002/02/06 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0043/2002 summary

    The European Parliament adopted without amendment the resolution drafted by Graham WATSON (ELDR, UK) on the Council framework decision on combating terrorism. (Please refer to the text dated 08/01/02).�

• 2002/01/08 Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation
  • A5-0003/2002
• 2002/01/08 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2001/12/13 Formal reconsultation of Parliament
• #2397
• 2001/12/10 Council Meeting
  • 2397
• 2001/12/07 Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published
  • 14845/1/2001 summary

    The Council reached political agreement, subject to parliamentary scrutiny reservations by three delegations (Sweden, Denmark and Ireland), on the Framework Agreement on combating terrorism. To recall, when defining terrorist aims, the Council opted for a wording that strikes a balance between the need to punish terrorist offences effectively and the need to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms, ensuring that the scope could not in any circumstances be extended to legitimate activities, for example trade union activities or anti-globalisation movements. Regarding penalties for terrorist offences, the Council, in accordance with the common guidelines established at its meeting on 16 November, agreed on a provision requiring custodial sentences of a maximum length of at least 15 years to be imposed for directing a terrorist group and at least 8 years for the other offences relating to terrorist groups specified in the Framework Decision. Other terrorist offences would be punished by heavier sentences than those attracted by ordinary law offences under the Member States' national law. In view of these important amendments, the Council believes that it should be submitted to the European Parliament for a new consultation.�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}],
• #2396
• 2001/12/06 Council Meeting
  • 2396 summary

    The Council reached political agreement, subject to parliamentary scrutiny reservations by three delegations, on the Framework Agreement on combating terrorism. (Please refer to the reconsultation summary).�

• 2001/11/29 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T5-0633/2001 summary

    The European Parliament adopted the report by Mr Graham WATSON (ELDR, UK) concerning the proposal for a Council framework decision on combating terrorism. (Please refer to the previous text).�

• 2001/11/28 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• #2386
• 2001/11/19 Council Meeting
  • 2386
• #2385
• 2001/11/16 Council Meeting
  • 2385 summary

    The Council's discussions continued on certain fundamental questions concerning the proposal for a Framework Decision on combating terrorism, with a view to bringing forward the work on this issue. The purpose of this draft Framework Decision is to define essentially what constitutes a terrorist offence and establish thresholds for penalties for the various types of offence. After a very detailed discussion, the Presidency noted that delegations' positions were considerably closer than before and that the JHA Council should be able to reach political agreement on the content of the Framework Decision at the JHA Council meeting on 6 and 7 December 2001, as instructed by the European Councils on 21 September 2001 and in Ghent on 19 October 2001. Regarding the definition of terrorist offences, the Council noted delegations' agreement based on a compromise proposal by the Presidency enabling a balance to be struck between the need to repress terrorist offences effectively and to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms. Finally, on penalties, the Presidency noted that work should continue on the basis of new proposals to the effect that each Member State should take the measures necessary to ensure that the sentence for terrorist offences involves deprivation of liberty, with a maximum sentence of not less than 15 years or a maximum sentence under national law involving deprivation of liberty and that the penalties for other terrorist offences should not be less than 5 years.�

• 2001/11/12 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0397/2001
• 2001/10/04 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2001/09/19 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2001)0521 summary

    PURPOSE: To reinforce criminal law measures and combat terrorism through the approximation of the laws of the Member States by a Framework Decision. CONTENT: For some time now the European Union has been considering ways in which to deal effectively with terrorism, as witnessed by the conclusions of the Tampere European Council in 1999 which called for the abolition of formal extradition procedures among the Member States. The attack on America in September 2001 consolidated the Communities resolve to fight terrorism both vigorously and with determination. Existing Community policy on terrorism is based, by and large, on UN and European Council conventions, of which the most important are the UN Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997), the UN Convention for the Suppression of Financing Terrorism (1999) and the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism (1977). In addition to these Conventions the Treaty of the European Union refers in Article 29 to terrorism as one of the most serious forms of crime. This article proposes combating terrorism through the use of common action in three fields, namely: - closer cooperation between police forces custom authorities and other competent authorities, including Europol; - closer cooperation between judicial and other competent authorities of the Member States; - approximation, where necessary of rules on criminal matters. Judicial cooperation is augmented by Article 31 of TUE which states that common action on judicial cooperation should facilitate and accelerate cooperation between competent ministries. Importantly, Article 31 (e) calls for the adoption of measures establishing minimum rules relating to the constituent elements of criminal acts and to penalties in the field of terrorism. It is precisely this aim of approximating Member States' legislations in the field of terrorism which this framework Decision seeks to address. Currently, six of the EU's Member States have legislation specifying and defining the act of terrorism. They are France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom with the later having developed the most extensive legislation in this field. The relevance of national terrorist legislation lies in the fact that it makes a clear distinction between what could be deemed an ordinary 'criminal offence' and a 'terrorist offence'. Based on this interpretation, the proposed EU Framework Decision seeks to draw a distinct line between what is a criminal offence and what is an act of terrorist violence. Thus, the proposed Decision offers the following definitions of terrorist activities: - 'A terrorist offence is an act which is intentionally committed by an individual or a group against one or more countries, their institutions or people, with the aim of intimidating them and seriously altering or destroying the political, economic, or social structures of those countries. Terrorist activities would include murder, bodily injuries, kidnapping, hostage taking, threats, extortion, theft, robbery, fabrication, possession, acquisitions, transport or supply of weapons or explosives, unlawful seizure, of ordamage to state or government facilities, means of public transport, infrastructure facilities, places of public use and property.' Urban violence would fall under this definition. Also included under the definition of a terrorist offence would be acts committed by computer or electronic devices. In addition to these definitions, the proposed Framework Decision concerns constituent elements and penalties in the field of terrorism, ensuring that terrorist offenses will be punished by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties. Lastly, the Decision would cover all terrorist offenses prepared or committed within the borders of the European union, whatever their target, including terrorist acts against interests of non EU Member States located within the EU.

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2001)0521
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0397/2001
• Debate in Council: 2385
• Debate in Council: 2386
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0633/2001
• Debate in Council: 2396
• Amended legislative proposal for reconsultation published: 14845/1/2001
• Debate in Council: 2397
• Committee report tabled for plenary, reconsultation: A5-0003/2002
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0043/2002

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)