Procedure completed
2010/2309(INI) Organised crime in the European Union
Lead committee dossier: LIBE/7/04826
Legal Basis RoP 052
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion | FEMM | COSTA Silvia (S&D) | |
| Lead | LIBE | ALFANO Sonia (ALDE) | IACOLINO Salvatore (PPE), CROCETTA Rosario (S&D), IN 'T VELD Sophia (ALDE), ALBRECHT Jan Philipp (Verts/ALE), KIRKHOPE Timothy (ECR), DE JONG Dennis (GUE/NGL) |
Legal Basis RoP 052
Subjects
Activites
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2011/10/25
Results of vote in Parliament
- Results of vote in Parliament
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T7-0459/2011
summary
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on organised crime in the European Union.A growing phenomenon: Parliament notes that the mafia-style criminal organisations operating in Europe have an impressively large turnover, particularly in the case of Italian organised crime groups, which are conservatively estimated to have revenues of at least EUR 135 billion, a figure which is higher than the combined GDP of 6 EU Member States. Accordingly, it welcomes the measures to curb organised crime proposed in theStockholm Programme, in the relevant action plan and in the internal security strategy and hopes that under the new trio Presidency combating organised crime will be included among the political priorities. Convinced that organised crime, whether or not of the mafia type, is among the key threats to the internal security of the EU and the freedom of its citizens, Parliament stresses the real risk that criminal organisations may cooperate increasingly frequently with terrorist organisations and calls for a specific, horizontal EU strategy on the issue, including legislative and operational measures, the allocation of funds and a strict implementation timetable. Endorsing the Council conclusions of 8-9 November 2010 on the EU policy cycle for organised crime, it calls on the Council to revise the decision and make provision for Parliament’s involvement in this area. Parliament goes on to ask Member States to:strengthen their judicial authorities and police forces on the basis of the best current experience;assign adequate human and financial resources for that purpose;pursue a proactive approach to investigation, and draw up national plans to combat organised crime;provide for central coordination of activities by appropriate specific structures. At the same time, Parliament stresses that all measures to counter organised crime must respect fundamental rights in full and be proportionate to the objectives pursued without unduly restricting the freedom of individuals. It expresses deep concern at the attempts by organised crime to infiltrate the sectors of politics, government at all levels, the economy and finance. Criminal assets: Parliament calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to focus their dissuasive action on attacking criminal assets, including those which are often hidden behind a network of front men and supporters, political institutions and lobby groups and make efforts to combat organised crime taking full account of ‘white collar’ crime. Improving the EU legislative framework: given that organised crime is growing, Parliament calls on Member States to improve cooperation and coordination and to approximate their legislation, especially with reference to the development of common, standard procedures and types of criminal offence, drawing on the good practices. It also asks for the ratification and/or transposition of all European and international legal instruments relating directly or indirectly to action to combat organised crime. Amongst other measures, and taking account of the extremely limited impact of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, Parliament calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 2013, a proposal for a directive which: i) contains a more concrete definition of organised crime and better identifies the key features of the phenomenon, focusing in particular on the key concept of organisation; ii) proposes the abolition of the current dual approach which criminalises both membership and conspiracy and the identification of a range of typical offences which could be deemed to constitute such a criminal offence; and iii) focuses on attacking criminal assets, including those that are indirectly linked to criminal organisations and their affiliates, which are often hidden behind a network of front men and supporters. The Commission is also called upon to:submit a framework proposal for a directive on the procedure for the seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of crime;propose European standards on the re-use of crime proceeds for social purposes; strengthen the role and competences of Asset Recovery Offices; draw up a study by the end of 2013 on the investigative practices employed in the Member States, with particular reference to the use of tools such as telephone interception, environmental interception, search procedures, delayed arrest, delayed seizure, undercover operations and controlled and supervised delivery operations; submit a proposal for a directive, by the end of 2014, on common investigative techniques to combat organised crime, pursuant to Article 87(2)(c) of the TFEU; propose EU legislation covering court witnesses, informers, whistleblowers and their families with all types of victim to be treated equally (in particular the victims of organised crime and of terrorism); establish a European fund to protect and assist victims of organised crime and court witnesses; promote the role of associations of victims’ families. Eradicating entrenched mafia-style organised crime in the EU: Parliament urges the Commission to draw up a proposal for a directive to make associating with mafias or other criminal rings a punishable crime in all Member States, in order to be able to punish criminal organisations which profit from their very existence, through their ability to intimidate even without any specific acts of violence or threats. It states its intent to set up a Parliamentary special committee on the dissemination of criminal organisations which operate across borders, including mafias, one of whose aims will be to investigate the extent of the phenomenon. Improving the functioning of European structures involved in combating organised crime: Parliament calls on Member States to transpose and implement immediately Council Decision 2009/426/JHA on the strengthening of Eurojust and to comply with all its recommendations. It asserts the importance of strengthening Eurojust in countering transnational organised crime, with reference to its powers of initiative, particularly the power to initiate investigations. It also calls on Europol to engage more effectively with organised crime. Closer cooperation between EUROPOL, EUROJUST, OLAF and the European Anti-Trafficking Coordinator is also recommended.Developing the principle of the mutual recognition of criminal decisions and improving judicial and police cooperation in the EU and with third countries: Parliament considers that considerable attention needs to be paid to informing and raising awareness among judicial and police authorities. They want to ensure the strengthening of judicial cooperation, including that between Member States, in order to establish a common area of security and justice. Included among the measures that Parliament recommends are the following:the effective implementation of the European Arrest Warrant; ensuring that the European arrest warrants they issue are always forwarded to Interpol;giving a new impetus to the work of joint investigation teams both by ensuring full implementation of Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA; honing the effectiveness of and regularly update agreements on judicial and investigative cooperation with non-EU countries aimed at combating cross-border organised crime;strengthen public sector transparency (in particular the use of public funds);introduction of an appropriate system of penalties and suitable detention provisions for offences relating to organised crime, both to discourage the commission of offences and to prevent prisoners from continuing to lead organisations during their sentences.Counter-measures relating to specific areas of action of organised crime: Parliament stresses the need for a proactive approach to combating corruption and calls on the Commission to place emphasis on measures to counter both public and private sector corruption. The measures favoured by Parliament include the following:prevention of companies linked to organised crime and mafias from taking part in public tenders and public procurement management; ensuring the traceability of financial flows in connection with public works, service and supply contracts;the drawing up of black-lists to prevent the misappropriation of public funds in the EU;improvement of policies on offshore financial centres;anti-money-laundering measures;provision for forms of financial support for companies whose directors report corruption;provision for the confiscation of illicit and counterfeit goods across the EU.
- 2011/10/24 Debate in Parliament
- 2011/10/06 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
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2011/09/29
Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
- #3096
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2011/06/09
Council Meeting
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2010/12/16
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A7-0333/2011
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0459/2011
| Amendments | Dossier |
| 277 |
2010/2309(INI)
2011/05/04
FEMM
34 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion Recital A A. whereas women and girls represent a large proportion of the direct and indirect victims of organised crime, in particular as regards crimes against persons,
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – introductory part 1. Calls on the Member States to enhance the prevention and repression of organised crime through gender-sensitive specific measures, such as:
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 1 – promoting multidisciplinary training for the professionals in this field, and developing educative programmes designed for vulnerable groups and the exchange of best practices and expertise, including the perspective of awareness of the culture of legality,
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 1 – promoting multidisciplinary training for the professionals in this field, and developing educative programmes designed for vulnerable groups, including the p
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 2 – organising awareness-raising campaigns in cooperation with civil-society organisations, non-governmental organisations, women’s organisations and the media,
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 3 – ensuring effective assistance and support measures for victims, taking into account the specific needs of girls and women, the assistance and support provided should include at least a minimum set of measures that are necessary to enable the victim to recover;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 3 Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 3 a (new) – impose sanctions on the users of any service exacted from a victim, with the knowledge that he/she has been trafficked;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 3 a (new) – guarding against and preventing any form of advertising that could be related to the provision of services linked to the trafficking or exploitation of human beings;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 1 – indent 3 a (new) – designing and implementing campaigns specially targeted at communities suffering from multiple and intersectional discrimination;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the development at EU level of a comprehensive legislative framework for the protection of victims, witnesses, collaborators with justice and their relatives and of effective measures for their protection, such as the European Protection Order, giving especial attention to the situation of women who want to dissociate from organised crime, in particular if family members are involved;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas the causes of trafficking of women stem from the lack of women’s rights, gender-bias, oppression, discrimination and the prevalence of gender based violence, as well as the failure of many governments to address gender gaps and to protect women’s social, political and economic rights,
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the development at EU level of a comprehensive legislative framework for the protection of victims, witnesses and their relatives and of effective measures for their protection, such as the European Protection Order, and measures to guard against intimidation and reprisals that guarantee total anonymity, giving especial attention to the situation of women who want to dissociate from organised crime, in particular if family members are involved;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 3. Calls for the development at EU level of a comprehensive legislative framework for the protection of victims, witnesses and their relatives and of effective measures for their national and cross-border protection, such as the European Protection Order, giving especial attention to the situation of women who want to dissociate from organised crime, in particular if family members are involved;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to take due account of the fact that women often directly or indirectly bear the financial and legal repercussions of loan sharking;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Calls for the proposal for a directive on attacks against information systems and repealing Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA, which is currently under discussion, to be gender- mainstreamed;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Invites the Member States to consider establishing appropriate sanctions for users of services which are the objects of exploitation of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of organs, tissues and cells;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Invites the Member States to
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 4. Invites the Member States to consider establishing appropriate sanctions for users of services, such as child porn websites, which are the objects of exploitation of trafficking in human beings;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Emphasizes that the European institutions and Member States need to undertake a holistic approach to child trafficking, which mainstreams multi- sectored interventions to protect the rights of trafficked children and children at risk of trafficking; insists that Member States to participate actively in the fight against illegal adoption and develop a framework to ensure transparency and effective monitoring of the development of the abandoned and the adopted children;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to look at possible ways of providing adequate compensation for relatives of victims, in particular for children, bearing in mind that many crimes are cross-border in nature;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 b (new) 5b. Calls on the Member States to pool good practice on prevention and victim protection;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion Recital B a (new) Ba. whereas progressive policies towards organised crime such as legalization of prostitution, could motivate the criminal sector to subvert the system in order to maintain their profits,
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 c (new) 5c. Calls on the Commission and Member States to promote the role of associations of victims’ families, dialogue between such associations and the institutions and the establishment of an EU forum of associations of victims’ families;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Calls on Eurojust and Europol to promote appropriate representation of women in decision-making posts within their organisations;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 e (new) 5e. Calls on Eurojust and Europol to compile gender-mainstreamed statistics on organised crime;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 f (new) 5a. Emphasises the need of research on the transnational criminal trends, including from a gender perspective, by analysing also the factors that lead to involvement of girls and women in organised crime activities, such as irregular situation as regards residence rights, lack of access to the labour market, migration, escaping exploitation, family organisation pressure;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion Paragraph 5 d (new) 5d. Calls on the Member States to cooperate with media operators and lay down rules governing conduct and respect for the dignity and privacy of victims and their families, so as to prevent them from being exposed to further victimisation and risks;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion Recital B b (new) Bb. whereas illegal immigrant woman and girls are more vulnerable to organised crime such as prostitution and trafficking than women and girls from national origin,
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion Recital C C. whereas for most forms of crime women are much less likely to be perpetrators than men, but women can possibly also play an important role in exploiting the victims in case of crimes against persons and drug trafficking, or they may play the dual role of victims and accomplices in organised crime groups such as mafias,
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas the violation of the rights of children, violence against them and child trafficking for illegal adoption, remains a serious concern in the EU,
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas growing numbers of women are becoming involved in action to combat organised crime, as judicial, law- enforcement and forensics professionals and members of civil-society organisations,
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion Recital C b (new) Cb. whereas cybercriminals target and exploit women and children in particular,
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas female sex trade in Europe has altered greatly over the last 50 years into a lucrative and massive productive business which interacts within a network of multiple forms of organised crimes,
source: PE-464.799
2011/05/31
LIBE
243 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 4 a (new) - having regard to Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 b (new) - having regard to the annual reports of the Italian National Antimafia Directorate; having regard to the reports of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA, German federal police) on the presence of the ‘ndrangheta in Germany, in particular the most recent of these reports entitled ‘Analysis of the activities of the San Luca clan in Germany’,
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that to counter transnational organised crime requires an effort on the part of the Member States and calls on them to
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that to counter transnational organised crime requires an effort on the part of the Member States and calls on them to approximate their legislation, especially with reference to the development of common, standard procedures and types of criminal offence, taking as a model the legal systems that are the most highly developed in terms of countering organised crime; deeply regrets that, despite their declarations of intent, the Member States as a whole have failed to show the sensitivity and political will needed to tackle cross-border organised crime, as shown for example by their regular failure to meet the deadlines set for the transposition of the various framework decisions and the fact that national implementing provisions often do not fully respect the spirit of the European agreements, leading to haphazard implementation inconsistent with the creation of a European area of freedom, security and justice; calls therefore on the Member States to ensure that they fully commit themselves to the timely transposition of European provisions and to emulate the efficient and timely procedures for full transposition already followed by some Member States;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 a (new) 6a. Welcomes, in particular, therefore, the growing commitment shown by Member States to taking ever more effective measures to combat national and international organised crime; in this connection, welcomes the recent legislative measures taken by some Member States (including Italy) to introduce tough penalties for organised crime, including for example: (a) legal codes aimed at recognition, harmonisation and alignment with Union standards of national provisions to combat organised crime with regard to anti-Mafia prevention and certification, (b) introduction of laws to ensure the traceability of financial flows for procedures related to public works and supply contracts; (c) laws designed to punish the obstruction of administrative selection procedures for the award of contracts by public authorities (e.g. by introducing the offence of ‘obstruction of tendering procedures’); (d) substantive and procedural rules to improve the protection given to those who cooperate with the judicial process (e.g. allowing the use of remote court hearings); (e) provisions to introduce stiffer penalties for the offence of ‘Mafia-like association’ and widening the scope of this offence to include ‘foreign associations’; (f) rules to provide financial and career incentives for judges who work in so- called ‘frontier areas’ (where organised crime is more rife); (g) introduction of stricter prevention measures (especially confiscation of assets), with wider scope (including, for example, cases involving convictions or plea-bargaining in connection with the offences of extortion, money laundering or association for the purpose of drug- trafficking); (h) measures to coordinate existing national currency regulations, bringing them into line with Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005 on controls of cash entering or leaving the Community, incorporating Directive 2005/60/EC;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Is dissatisfied with the extremely limited impact on the legislative systems of the Member States of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, which has not made any significant improvement to national laws or to operational cooperation to counter organised crime; stresses, therefore, the need to review and strengthen the European legislative framework and calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 2012, a proposal for a directive which contains a less general definition of organised crime
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Is dissatisfied with the extremely limited impact on the legislative systems of the Member States of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, which has not made any significant improvement to national laws or to operational cooperation to counter organised crime; stresses, therefore, the need to review and strengthen the legislative framework and calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 2012, a proposal for a directive which contains a
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7.
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Is dissatisfied with the extremely limited impact on the legislative systems of the Member States of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, which has not made any significant improvement to national laws or to operational cooperation to counter organised crime; stresses, therefore, the need to review and strengthen the legislative framework and calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 201
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Is dissatisfied with the extremely limited impact on the legislative systems of the Member States of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, which has not made any significant improvement to national laws or to operational cooperation to counter organised crime; stresses, therefore, the need to review and strengthen the legislative framework and calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 2012, a proposal for a directive which contains a less general definition of organised crime and manages better to identify the key features of the phenomenon;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Is dissatisfied with the extremely limited impact on the legislative systems of the Member States of Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA on organised crime, which has not made any significant improvement to national laws or to operational
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to focus their dissuasive action on attacking criminal assets, including those that are indirectly linked to criminal organisations and their affiliates, which are often hidden behind a network of front men
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 c (new) - having regard to the ROCTA (Russian Organised Crime Threat Assessment) report, drawn up by Europol in 2008,
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to focus their dissuasive action on attacking criminal assets, including those that are indirectly linked to criminal organisations and their affiliates, which are often hidden behind a network of front men and supporters; stresses that efforts to combat organised crime must take full account of the role of so-called ‘white collar’ criminals, that is professionals who are able to launder and transfer the proceeds of organised crime to the legal economy as well as that of politicians and public officials who collude or connive in organised crime;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 a (new) 8a. Calls on the Commission to draw up clear guidelines on the traceability of money so as to make it easier to identify cases involving the laundering of money deriving from illegal activities;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 b (new) 8b. Calls on the Commission to draw up clear guidelines to prevent companies linked to organised crime and mafias from taking part in public tenders and public procurement management;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, an organic proposal for a directive on the
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9.
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, an organic proposal for a directive on the confiscation of assets and the proceeds of crime, accepting and supporting the urgent need for European legislation on the re-use of crime proceeds for social purposes, including witness protection, so that the capital of criminal organisations or their associates can be re- injected into legal, clean, transparent and virtuous economic circuits;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, a
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Commission to accept and support the urgent need for European legislation on the re-use of crime proceeds for social purposes, so that the capital of criminal organisations or their associates can be re-injected into legal, clean, transparent and virtuous economic circuits;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Calls on the Members States to establish fully equipped Asset Recovery Offices, with trained staff and necessary powers;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Calls on the Commission to support and endorse the urgent need for European legislation on the re-use of crime proceeds for social purposes, so that the capital of criminal organisations or their associates can be re-injected into legal, clean, transparent and virtuous economic circuits;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 12 a (new) - having regard to the General Report on Europol’s activities (2009),
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Believes that Asset Recovery Offices are a vital tool in combating organised crime and supports the Commission’s appeal to the Member States to set up offices of this kind and provide them with the necessary resources and expertise by 2014 at the latest; commends the work done by the informal network of Asset Recovery Offices, particularly as regards the improvement in information exchange and the sharing of best practice on the identification of criminal assets; endorses and takes note of the Commission’s analysis of the main difficulties encountered by existing Asset Recovery Offices, in particular the question of limited human resources and the need for proper training, the fact that most of these offices are unable to access the functional databases directly or indirectly so as to perform their work more effectively, and the absence of a secure system for transmitting information; commends the pilot project undertaken by Europol at the request of the Commission, which should enable Asset Recovery Offices to use the SIENA data transmission system; calls on the Commission to include in the proposal for a directive on confiscation new measures to strengthen the role and competences of Asset Recovery Offices and give them more flexible and uniform access to information; considers that the setting up by the 27 Member States of databanks on current bank accounts should be a priority, drawing on existing best practice and calls on the Commission to provide encouragement and guidance for the establishment of these databases and to support the pooling and exchange of information between Member States via the Asset Recovery Offices, agreeing on and laying down the most appropriate procedures for ensuring efficient investigation and protection of personal data;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 b (new) 9b. Calls on the Commission to draw up a study by the end of 2013 on the investigative practices employed in the Member States to combat organised crime, with particular reference to the use of tools such as telephone interception, environmental interception, search procedures, delayed arrest, delayed seizure, undercover operations, controlled and supervised delivery operations; in line with the Stockholm Programme, supports the need to establish a global system for the collection of evidence in cases with a cross border dimension, based on the principle of mutual recognition; therefore supports the adoption of a directive on the European Investigation Order in criminal matters so as to provide the European Union with a clear, simple and effective legislative framework; calls also on the Commission to submit a proposal for a directive by the end of 2014 on common investigative techniques to combat organised crime, pursuant to Article 87(2)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing appropriate protection for the victims of organised crime, witnesses, informers, whistleblowers and their families and calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, a legislative proposal on this issue, the subject of which should be not only victims and their families but also witnesses
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing appropriate protection for the victims of organised crime, witnesses, informers and their families and calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, a legislative proposal on this issue, the subject of which should be not only victims and their families but also witnesses and informers; calls for all types of victim to be treated equally (in particular the victims of organised crime, of duty and of terrorism) and for the protection of court witnesses, informers and their families to be extended over and beyond the duration
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing appropriate protection for
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing appropriate protection for the victims of organised crime, witnesses, informers and their families and calls on the Commission to submit, as soon as possible, a legislative proposal on this issue, the subject of which should be not only victims and their families but also witnesses and informers; calls for all types of victim to be treated
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 10. Stresses the importance of providing appropriate protection for the victims of organised crime, witnesses, informers and their families and
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Stresses that minors need special attention, treatment, protection, assistance and guidance when he or she is a victim of organised crime
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 a (new) 10a. Calls on the Commission to set out clear guidelines for assisting witnesses and informers and their families, according them European transnational legal status and extending any protection granted to them within the Member States, if so requested by the Member State of origin of the informer or witness;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 12 b (new) - having regard to the EP-commissioned study entitled ‘Improving coordination between the EU bodies competent in the area of police and judicial cooperation: moving toward a European Prosecutor’,,
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10 b (new) 10b. Calls on the Commission to allocate specific budgetary funds to assist victims of organised crime, witnesses and informers, including via support for non- governmental anti-Mafia and anti-racket associations recognised by the Member States;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to draw up a proposal for a directive to make the offence of Mafia association a punishable crime in all Member States, in order to be able to punish criminal organisations which profit from their very existence, through their
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to draw up a proposal for a directive to
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11.
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to draw up a proposal for a directive to make the offence of Mafia-style criminal association a punishable crime in all Member States, in order to be able to punish participation in criminal organisations which profit from their very existence, through their ability to intimidate – even without any specific acts of violence or threats – with the aim of committing crimes, securing the management or control, either directly or indirectly, of businesses, concessions, authorisations, contracts and public services, or of making,
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Calls on the Commission to
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 a (new) 11a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the EAW is correctly implemented so as to ensure that suspects are arrested and handed over in cases involving offences related to organised crime and/or the Mafia, irrespective of whether the offence of criminal or Mafia-style association exists in the jurisdiction to which the application is made;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 12 c (new) - having regard to Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA on simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement authorities of the Member States of the European Union,
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Intends to set up, within three months of the adoption of this resolution, a special committee on the dissemination of Mafia- style criminal organisations
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Intends to set up, within three months of the adoption of this resolution, a special committee on the dissemination of Mafia- style criminal organisations
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Intends to set up, within three months of the adoption of this resolution, a special committee on the dissemination of
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Intends to set up, within three months of the adoption of this resolution, a special committee on the dissemination of Mafia- style criminal organisations, both from Italy and elsewhere, which operate across borders; one of its aims will be to investigate the extent of the phenomenon and the negative social and economic impact it has throughout the EU, including the issue of the appropriation and misappropriation of public funds by Mafia- style criminal organisations and their infiltration into
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study to assess the negative impact of transnational organised crime in the European Union, primarily referring to Mafia-style organised crime and its links with criminal organisations from countries outside Europe, especially the Union’s immediate neighbours; stresses that effective action against organised crime must be a key criterion in agreements with third countries that involve the provision of financing or development aid from EU funds;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study to assess the
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 13. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with Europol, to conduct a study by June 2013 to assess the negative impact of transnational organised crime in the European Union, primarily referring to Mafia-style organised crime
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 a (new) 13a. Endorses the assessment made by Europol in its 2011 OCTA but regrets that the priorities suggested to the Council make no reference to Mafias, which, because of their consolidated position in the Member States, their socio-economic impact, their ability to generate synergies with other criminal organisations within and outside Europe and their tendency to infiltrate the legal economy, the financial sector, general government and politics, represent one of the main threats to the EU’s internal security; calls on Europol to examine the Mafia threat at European level more carefully in future reports and to draw up an OCTA on the subject of Mafias in the EU by 2012;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 14 Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 13 b (new) 13b. Calls on the Member States to transpose and implement immediately Council Decision 2009/426/JHA on the strengthening of Eurojust and to comply with all its recommendations, particularly those concerning the functions and powers assigned to national members and to the College, the follow-up to Eurojust requests and opinions, the Eurojust national coordination system and the exchanges of information with the Member States and between national members; calls on the Member States to give a firm commitment that their Eurojust national member will be informed without delay in the case of crimes involving at least two Member States and in which there are clear indications that a criminal organisation is involved;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Asserts the importance of strengthening Eurojust in order to improve its effectiveness in countering transnational organised crime, with reference to its powers of initiative and to those conferred upon it under Article 85 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; takes the view that, in parallel, the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon concerning the evaluation of Eurojust’s
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Asserts the importance of
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 a (new) 14a. Calls on the Commission to strengthen Eurojust by giving it the power of initiative to open investigations;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Reiterates its firm support for the implementation of Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office and calls on the Commission to arrange, as soon as possible, an impact assessment on the added value of this institution, considering as being within its scope both the protection of the EU’s financial interests and the combating of cross-border organised crime, as provided for under Article 86(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; reiterates its request that the Commission immediately launch debates and consultations with the parties concerned, including civil society, on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and make all the necessary arrangements to set up the appropriate institutional infrastructure, giving Eurojust full powers and consolidating, clarifying and simplifying its relations with key players such as the European Judicial Network, OLAF, Frontex and Europol and with individual national judicial and administrative institutions;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Reiterates its firm support for the implementation of Article 86 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the establishment of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office and calls on the Commission to arrange, as soon as possible, an impact assessment on the added value of this institution, considering
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Reiterates its firm support for the
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15.
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 19 – having regard to
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Points out that borders are not an obstacle to organised crime; considers it necessary, therefore, for the external dimension of organised crime to be integrated into the framework of Europe’s effort to combat the phenomenon; notes that it is important, to that end, to involve more deeply the European External Action Service and the Joint Situation Centre (SitCen);
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Encourages Eurojust and Europol to ensure that magistrates and police from the various Member States – particularly those engaged in combating organised crime – have as many opportunities as possible to meet, get to know each other, talk and compare views;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 b (new) 15b. Endorses the five-year strategy for the development of Europol outlined in the 2009 report entitled ‘Europol Review’, which seeks to ensure that the agency serves as the principal EU support centre for law enforcement operations, becomes the criminal information hub of the European Union and develops further as a centre for building expertise and pooling best practice for Member State police authorities; calls on Europol to step up meetings and relations with the European Parliament in order jointly to review progress with this strategy and any problems at periodic intervals; calls on the Commission to submit, by the end of 2011, the communication on the procedures for the scrutiny of Europol’s activities by the European Parliament, together with national parliaments, which is provided for in the Action Plan;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Reiterates the importance of improved practical co-operation among police and judicial authorities of the Member States in order to exchange data on criminal organisations and to co- ordinate investigations; calls upon the Commission and Eurojust to set up a more effective network of national focal points to this effect; furthermore, requests the Commission to submit annual reports on progress made with intensified co- operation among police and judicial authorities in the field of organised crime;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 a (new) 15a. Calls on the Commission to put forward a proposal for the reorganisation of Europol to set up a section with specific responsibility for action to combat organised crime and mafia-style crime;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Recognises that despite the protocols and bilateral agreements between Europol, Eurojust and OLAF there is still significant room for improvement as far as cooperation between these institutions is concerned; calls, therefore, on Europol, Eurojust, Frontex and OLAF to make tangible, joint efforts both to assess and constantly update the cooperation agreements and to implement them, notably with reference to exchanges of case summaries, information relating to cases and strategic information and data;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Recognises that despite the protocols and bilateral agreements between Europol, Eurojust and OLAF there is still significant room for improvement as far as cooperation between these institutions is concerned; calls, therefore, on Europol, Eurojust, Frontex and OLAF to make tangible, joint efforts both to assess and constantly update the cooperation agreements and to implement them, notably with reference to exchanges of case summaries, information relating to cases and strategic information and data;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Recognises that despite the protocols and bilateral agreements between Europol, Eurojust and OLAF there is still significant room for improvement as far as cooperation between these institutions is concerned; calls, therefore, on Europol, Eurojust
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Recognises that despite the protocols and bilateral agreements between Europol, Eurojust and OLAF there is still significant room for improvement as far as cooperation between these institutions is concerned; calls, therefore, on Europol, Eurojust and OLAF to make tangible, joint efforts both to assess and constantly update the cooperation agreements and to implement them, notably with reference to exchanges of case summaries, information relating to cases and strategic information and data; considers that, for cooperation between the two agencies and OLAF to be fully effective, a clear breakdown of responsibilities needs to be established with a view to avoiding any duplication of effort;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 a (new) 16a. Calls on Europol to collaborate and integrate ever more closely with Interpol with a view to combating criminal organisations at international level, with particular reference to the issue of information sharing; calls on Europol to press ahead with its external cooperation activities, establishing closer links and concluding strategic and operational agreements with the competent authorities of third countries; in recognition of the fundamental importance of enhancing judicial cooperation and increasing and improving the coordination of transnational investigations, calls on the European institutions to bring their political influence to bear at international level to launch a review of the possibilities of exchanging some of the experience acquired by the EU, including by Eurojust, at international level also and, possibly, making available the know-how acquired to date at EU level;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 20 a (new) - having regard to the report from the Commission to the European Parliament and to the Council based on Article 8 of Council Decision 2007/845/JHA of 6 December 2007 concerning cooperation between Asset Recovery Offices of the Member States in the field of tracing and identification of proceeds from, or other property related to, crime (COM(201)176),
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Is aware that in order to overcome practical obstacles to judicial cooperation, considerable attention needs to be paid to informing and raising awareness among the judicial and police authorities and defence lawyers and calls on the Member States to consider judicial and police training plus defence rights a political priority; at the same time, calls on the Commission to mobilise the appropriate resources, including financial ones, to support the activity of the Member States;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Recognises that judicial cooperation between Member States is one of the pillars for combating transnational organised crime and for establishing a common area of security and justice, and calls on the Member States to honour their commitments and immediately to incorporate into their legislation all the judicial cooperation instruments that already exist at EU level, in particular the 2000 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Framework Decision on joint investigation teams;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Recognises that judicial cooperation is one of the pillars for combating transnational organised crime and for establishing a common area of security and justice, and calls on the Member States to honour their commitments and immediately to incorporate into their legislation all the judicial cooperation instruments that already exist at EU level, in particular the 2000 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and its implementing protocol and the Framework Decision on joint investigation teams;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Is in favour of closer cooperation between Member States on recognition and proper execution of seizure and confiscation orders, which are effective means of combating organised crime and attacking the assets generated by such crime;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Calls on the Commission and the Council to give a new impetus to the work of joint investigation teams, both by ensuring full implementation of Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA by those Member States that are currently falling short in this respect and by providing adequate financial support;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 a (new) 18a. Calls on the Commission to submit at the earliest opportunity a proposal for a directive on the European arrest warrant that will remove the leeway currently afforded to Member States in the transposition of, in particular, Article 2 (scope), Article 3 (grounds for mandatory non-execution), Article 4 (grounds for optional non-execution) and Article 5 (guarantees to be given by the issuing Member State in particular cases), which have hitherto given rise to the greatest disparities, and at the same time to propose the inclusion of a clause providing for the possibility of refusal in the event of a breach of fundamental rights; calls on the Commission to consider whether the grounds for optional non-execution of the European arrest warrant referred to in Article 4 of the Directive should be made more restrictive in respect of offences generally associated with organised crime, including the offence of mafia association; calls on the Commission to draw on the experience gained with the Nordic Arrest Warrant;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 b (new) 18b. Acknowledges the central role played by Eurojust in steadily increasing the effectiveness of the European arrest warrant and in supporting and assisting Member States in settling the most complex cases, and supports and encourages it in its efforts in this area; calls on Member States to comply with the framework decision on the European arrest warrant and to inform Eurojust, in accordance with Article 17(7) of that decision, of any failure to observe the time limits for execution of the warrant, so as to enable the agency to record and analyse the reasons for delays in execution;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 c (new) 18c. Calls on the judicial authorities of the Member States to make every effort to ensure that the European arrest warrants they issue are forwarded to Interpol, so as to enable that agency to use its red alert notice system to provide the police authorities belonging to the Interpol network around the world with information on the warrants that have been issued;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 d (new) 18d. Acknowledges the fundamental role played by joint investigation teams in combating cross-border organised crime and voices its concern at the fact that, owing to inadequate transposition of the relevant framework decision and to foot dragging on the part of some national judicial authorities, this investigative instrument is not being used to best effect; calls for better and more frequent use to be made of joint investigation teams and undercover operations, as provided for in the Convention of 29 May 2000 on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA; calls on Eurojust and the European Judicial Network actively to disseminate information on the opportunities afforded by the framework decision on joint investigation teams and the provisions of the 2000 Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 e (new) 18e. Acknowledges the important role played by Eurojust in relation to joint investigation teams and welcomes the commencement of Eurojust’s funding project for those teams; calls on the Commission to support this approach with appropriate funding; calls for the role of the informal network of experts on joint investigation teams to be stepped up with a view to helping the Member States to understand the reasons behind the underuse of those teams, exchange information on their establishment, pool best practices and establish links with other experts and other organisations;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 20 a (new) - having regard to Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA,
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 f (new) 18f. Points to the significance of the fact that the results achieved by joint investigation teams can be assessed at European level (e.g. on the basis of the value of items confiscated) and at national level (e.g. on the basis of the effectiveness of individual team members), and calls on the Commission to address this issue in cooperation with Eurojust and Europol;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 g (new) 18g. Considers it essential to continue and step up the efforts being made by the EU and the international institutions in the Balkans, particularly in connection with action to combat organised crime; stresses the need for full and free interaction and information exchange between the national authorities of the countries in the Balkans region and international bodies involved in combating organised crime (Council of Europe, UNODC, EULEX Kosovo, etc.);
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 h (new) 18h. Calls on the Commission to continue to hone the effectiveness of and regularly update agreements on judicial and investigative cooperation with non-EU countries aimed at combating cross- border organised crime; calls, furthermore, for due account to be taken when drafting such agreements of the specific threats that organised crime in the individual countries poses to the EU’s internal and external security; calls on Europol to produce more frequent and more detailed analyses of non-European criminal organisations whose activities have a direct or indirect impact on the European Union;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 i (new) 18i. Calls on the Commission, in collaboration with Europol, to develop a joint project with Interpol to support the establishment and implementation of a regional system for the exchange of police and judicial information with West Africa, while making available to the Economic Community of West African States the necessary know-how and resources, not least in the field of training and follow-up;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 j (new) 18j. Recalling Recommendation No 37 of the European Union Strategy for the New Millennium on the prevention and control of organised crime (OJ C 124/2000, p. 1), urges the European Union to bring all its political weight to bear so as to lead a global campaign to combat organised crime through those bodies in which all the Member States are represented, such as the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Financial Action Task Force, Interpol and the United Nations;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 6 a (new) Countering organised crime through transparency measures;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Stresses the importance of promoting a culture of legality and increasing awareness and knowledge of the issue among citizens and, in general, public opinion; highlights, in this regard, the fundamental role of
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 19. Stresses the importance of promoting a culture of legality and increasing awareness and knowledge of the issue among citizens and, in general, public opinion; highlights, in this regard, the fundamental role of a free press that is free from all outside influences and can thus investigate and publicise the links between organised crime and vested interests, first and foremost those of politics;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 – subparagraph 1 (new) calls at the same time on the press to pursue its news activities in a transparent and responsible manner, without hampering sensitive police work by disclosing information at the wrong time, which could result in organised crime going unpunished;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Stresses the increasing trend of cyber crime, operating in a criminal underworld that connotes a lack of transparency where who is doing what is usually hidden from view, and which can provide new opportunities and benefits for illicit business, such as robbing online banks, illicitly gaining access to intellectual property and practising fraud on computerised data that provide attractive targets for extortion;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 20 b (new) - having regard to the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat money laundering,
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Calls on the Commission to put forward specific action plans with a view to developing a culture of legality, involving among other things the creation of specific budget lines for this purpose;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Emphasises the vital importance of public sector transparency in the fight against organised crime and calls on the Commission to take action to lay down the necessary rules and ensure that the use of EU funds is fully traceable and monitored both by the competent institutions and the citizens and press; calls for this information to be promptly made available on the internet on a central website in a machine-readable, comparable and open data format and in at least one of the working languages of the EU; calls on the Member States to adopt similar measures to make all transactions using public funds transparent, with particular reference to local authorities, which are more liable to infiltration by organised crime;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Emphasises the vital importance of public sector transparency in the fight against organised crime and calls on the Commission to take action to lay down the necessary rules and ensure that the use of EU funds is fully traceable and monitored both by the competent institutions and the citizens
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Emphasises the vital importance of public sector transparency in the fight against organised crime and calls on the Commission to take action to lay down the
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Emphasises the vital importance of public sector transparency in the fight against organised crime and calls on the Commission to take action to lay down the necessary rules and ensure that the allocation and use of EU funds is fully traceable and monitored both by the competent institutions and the citizens and press; calls for this information to be promptly made available on
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20a. Stresses the need for coordinated cooperation among the Member States of the European Union and for the strengthening of the European Network And Information Security Agency (ENISA);
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20a. Emphasises the trend that criminal organisations move away from their more traditional ‘strong arm’ activities and increasingly focus on opportunities for money laundering or financial crime which could result in an increasing widespread development of internet-based criminal activities;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Calls for, with all due respect for fundamental rights,
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 21. Calls for, with
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 a (new) - having regard to Council Framework Decision 2003/577/JHA of 22 July 2003 on the execution in the European Union of orders freezing property or evidence, Council Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA of 24 February 2005 on confiscation of crime-related proceeds, instrumentalities and property and Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA of 6 October 2006 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to confiscation orders,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 a (new) - having regard to Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts, as subsequently amended,
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 a (new) 21a. Calls, with a view to adopting ever more effective strategies for preventing and combating organised crime, on the competent EU institutions (including agencies) and the Member States to make joint efforts to improve the collection and sharing of statistics on organised crime, with special reference to transnational and cross-border crime; awaits, in this connection, the submission in 2011 of the New Action Plan on development of statistics on crime and criminal justice 2011-2015, and calls on the Commission to take due account of the specific requirements arising in connection with combating organised crime and mafia- style crime;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 b (new) 21b. Calls, with reference to Recommendation 27 of the European Union strategy for the beginning of the new millennium on the prevention and control of organised crime (2000/C 124/01), for all European and international instruments (framework decisions, convention, agreements, directives) relating directly or indirectly to action to combat organised crime to be ratified within the given timetable; points out that, if the timetable is not kept to for a given instrument, the Member State concerned must report in writing to the Commission, the Council and Parliament on the reasons therefor, every six months until it is ratified;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21 c (new) 21c. Warmly welcomes the adoption of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, in particular in view of the fact that Article 4 thereof doubles the maximum penalty for offences concerning trafficking in human beings that are committed within the framework of a criminal organisation; calls on the Member States to endeavour thoroughly to transpose that instrument into their national law at the earliest opportunity; calls on the Member States and national rapporteurs, when assessing trends in trafficking in human beings in accordance with Article 19 of Directive 2011/36/EU, to make a separate analysis of the role of organised crime in trafficking in and exploitation of human beings, so as to provide the European anti-trafficking coordinator with the information required in order to assess trends in such trafficking carried out by criminal organisations, with a view to gaining a better understanding of such activities and combating them more effectively;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution Subheading 7 a (new) Countering organised crime through fighting corruption and money- laundering;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption and emphatically reiterates the request it expressed when adopting Written Declaration 02/10, both with reference to the creation of a mechanism, of an objective and quantifiable nature, to assess and monitor the policies of the 27 Member States in combating corruption and with regard to the framing of a comprehensive anti-corruption policy by the EU institutions; stresses the need for a proactive approach to combating corruption and calls on the Commission to place emphasis on measures to counter political corruption, that of the civil
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption and emphatically reiterates the request it expressed when adopting Written Declaration 02/10, both with reference to the creation of a mechanism to assess and monitor the policies of the 27 Member States in combating corruption and with regard to the framing of a comprehensive anti-corruption policy by the EU institutions; stresses the need for a proactive approach to combating corruption and calls on the Commission to place emphasis on measures to counter political corruption, that of the civil service, the courts, the police and customs officers, in addition to private sector corruption; considers it, moreover, a priority to develop effective measures to combat corruption in the neighbourhood policy and in the use of development aid funds; calls on the Commission to inform Parliament about the eligibility conditions for budget support and to promote mainly sectoral support, while introducing effective control of the measures taken and results achieved; welcomes the emphasis placed on good governance in the context of European development cooperation policy;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption and emphatically reiterates the request it expressed when adopting Written Declaration 02/10, both with reference to the creation of a mechanism to assess and monitor the policies of the 27 Member States in combating corruption and with regard to the framing of a comprehensive anti-corruption policy by the EU institutions; stresses the need for a proactive approach to combating corruption and calls on the Commission to place emphasis on measures to counter p
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption and emphatically reiterates the request it expressed when adopting Written Declaration 02/10, both with reference to the creation of a mechanism to assess and monitor the policies of the 27 Member States in combating corruption and with regard to the framing of a comprehensive anti-corruption policy by the EU institutions; stresses the need for a proactive approach to combating corruption and calls on the Commission to place emphasis on measures to counter political corruption, that of the civil service, the courts, the police and customs officers, in addition to private sector corruption; considers it, moreover, a priority to develop effective measures to combat corruption in the neighbourhood policy, in the area of pre-accession and in the use of development aid funds, in particular by the European Investment Bank and the new bodies being set up under the auspices of the European External Action Service;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 22. Is convinced of the intrinsic link between organised crime and corruption and emphatically reiterates the request it expressed when adopting Written Declaration 02/10, both with reference to the creation of a mechanism to assess and
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 b (new) - having regard to the European Parliament study entitled ‘Financial institutions and Structural Funds implementation in southern Italy’ (2009),
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 a (new) 22a. Calls on the Commission to incorporate specific provisions on the role of organised crime in the legislative framework applicable to the fight against counterfeiting and piracy;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 22 b (new) 22b. Calls on the Commission to provide that the seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of illegal activities concern not only the assets of the person in question, but also those of his or her close relatives/spouse insofar as the latter are unable to prove the legitimate origin of those assets or where the family unit’s declared income is clearly inconsistent with its assets.
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Undertakes to lay down rules to ensure that those who have been convicted
Amendment 214 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Undertakes to lay down rules to ensure that those who have been convicted of membership of criminal organisations or
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 24. Undertakes to lay down rules to ensure that those who have been convicted of membership of criminal organisations or who have committed offences relating to such organisations, including aiding and abetting, or of corruption offences, will be unable to stand for election to the European Parliament; calls on European political groups to draw up internal codes of ethics to prevent those who have been convicted,
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) 24a. Calls on the EU institutions to send out a clear signal at both Union and international level that they intend to fight the new forms of organised crime, especially computer crime, and subsequently to call on as many as possible of their international partners to sign and ratify the 2001 Convention on Computer Crime, which is the sole existing legal instrument for fighting international computer crime;
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 b (new) 24b. Calls on the Commission to investigate the abuse of self-employment regulations within the Schengen Area by human traffickers who use this possibility to lure mainly Central and Eastern European women into prostitution in mainly Western European countries;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 24 a (new) Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 c (new) - having regard to the EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2012) and the EU Action Plan on Drugs (2009-2012),
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the European institutions to send out a clear message at EU level and to assert their political influence internationally with a view to curbing all forms of money laundering through the use of the financial markets, in particular by: drawing up better capital control rules; encouraging a reduction of the pervasiveness of the financial markets (using tools such as the taxation of investment income and the introduction of a tax on international financial transactions); imposing increased transparency on the use of public funds, first and foremost on those to support private sector development, and carrying out a serious and effective offensive against tax havens by imposing country- by-country financial reporting on all multinational economic operators; promoting a multilateral agreement on the exchange of tax-related information whilst revising the definition of ‘tax haven’ and the list of these secret jurisdictions;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the European institutions to send out a clear message at EU level and to assert their political influence internationally with a view to curbing forms of money laundering through the use of the financial markets, in particular by: drawing up better capital control rules
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the European institutions to
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the European institutions to send out a clear message at EU level and to assert their political influence internationally with a view to curbing forms of money laundering through the use of the financial markets
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 25. Calls on the European institutions to send out a clear message at EU level and to assert their political influence internationally with a view to curbing all forms of money laundering through the use of the financial markets, in particular by:
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 a (new) 25a. Stresses that organised crime uses communication and information technologies for illegal purposes, to commit offences involving identity theft, cybercrime, illegal gambling and rigged sports events; calls, in this connection, for the development of a coherent European legislative framework;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 a (new) 25a. Calls on the European Investment Bank and all the European development financial institutions of the Member States to improve their policies on offshore financial centres and uncooperative jurisdictions, in particular by adopting a list of jurisdictions that should be monitored more stringently by reference to the OECD’s blacklist and greylist and by carrying out specific ‘due diligence’ of every country as necessary, while prohibiting any form of support for financial intermediaries in jurisdictions which are regarded as high-risk, as is currently the case for Panama, and requiring the relocation of registered companies resident in uncooperative jurisdictions and offshore financial centres as an essential prerequisite for financial support for specific activities; calls on the European institutions and the Member States to actively commit to ensuring the correct implementation of all 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force through the adoption of specific policies for each institution including enhanced due diligence, particularly in politically sensitive cases;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 b (new) 25b. Calls on the Commission, with reference to Recommendation No 17 of the European Union Strategy for the Beginning of the New Millennium on the Prevention and Control of Organised Crime (2000/C 124/01) and with a view to its legislative proposal to update the Money Laundering Directive, to generalise as far as possible the criminalisation of laundering of the proceeds of crime and to establish a legal basis for the widest possible range of investigative powers in this area; calls, in this connection, for all the Member States to be required to criminalise ‘self- laundering’, or the laundering of illicit funds by the very person or entity having obtained those funds by unlawful means; also calls on the Commission, in its proposal, to consider the possibility of extending the criminalisation of laundering to cases where the perpetrator should have known that the assets in question were the proceeds of crime;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 25 c (new) 25c. Calls on the Council, with a view to the evaluation of the EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2012) and the drafting of the future strategy document and in the light of the results achieved and any criticisms made, to emphasise and step up its work in the following areas as a means of reducing supply: a) closer investigative and judicial cooperation between Member States, b) consistent enforcement policies across the various Member States, c) more intensive efforts to ensure the application of the law in respect of non-EU countries, especially producer countries and those situated along drug trafficking routes, d) more intensive and effective efforts in the area of cooperation with, and the provision of international aid to, non-EU countries, especially producer countries and those situated along drug trafficking routes, with a view to combating trafficking in those countries, curbing demand and supporting alternative development initiatives endorsed by the local community;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. Calls on the Commission carefully to monitor the transposition by the Member States of the EU directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law, to ensure that it is done promptly and effectively;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 d (new) - having regard to the World Drug Report 2010 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 26. Calls on the Commission carefully to monitor the transposition by the Member States of the EU directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law, to ensure that it is done promptly and effectively;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Urges the EU institutions to take stronger measures than at present against trafficking in persons, as this is one of the most lucrative types of activity of international organised crime worldwide and reducing and eradicating trafficking in persons is therefore an important objective of efforts to root out organised crime in the EU;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Calls on the Commission to draft a proposal on the creation of a European Public Prosecutor Office with a robust mandate to investigate serious cross- border crimes, including organised crime and corruption, to ensure effective investigation and prosecution.
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Stresses the crucial importance of policing of Europe’s external borders in the fight against organised crime; calls on the Commission to step up the policing of borders;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 b (new) 26b. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to pay greater attention to fighting trafficking in women, above all from Eastern Bloc countries, and illegal prostitution, in particular through better exchange of information between European police services;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 c (new) 26c. Calls on the Commission to investigate possible links between the (Italian) Mafia and Islamic terrorist groups, in order to gain a clearer picture of the bartering of drugs for arms for Islamic terrorist groups;
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 d (new) 26d. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to improve cooperation between national police services in practice, removing formal obstacles as far as possible;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Urges the Member States and the EU institutions to give due consideration to the fact that organised crime is continuing to further its own activities and interests, including by means of drug trafficking, and endeavouring to extend the global market in illegal drugs to new markets and new substances;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Calls on the Commission to develop innovative instruments for the prosecution of environmental offences in which organised crime plays a role, such as toxic waste trafficking, in the context of the planned merger of Directive 2008/99/EC on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law with Directive 2009/123/EC on Ship- Source Pollution;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 a (new) 26a. Intends, within three months of the adoption of this resolution, to set up a special committee on international waste trafficking, including trafficking between Member States and trafficking to non-EU countries and the problem of ‘poison ships’ suspected to have been sunk in the Mediterranean; calls, therefore, on the Conference of Presidents to put forward a proposal under Rule 184 of the Rules of Procedure;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 27 e (new) - having regard to the 2010 annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction on the state of the drugs problem in Europe,
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 b (new) 26b. Calls for stronger action by the CITES offices and closer coordination between those offices at European level in combating illegal trafficking in protected and endangered animal and plant species;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 c (new) 26c. Calls on the Member States to adopt a proactive approach to investigating cases of extortion, for example through incentives and forms of financial support to enable complainants to continue their business activities, along with the launch of investigations on the basis of intelligence work; believes it is essential to strengthen both the role of civil society and partnerships between civil society and the judicial system and the police, and that this is to be encouraged; calls on the Member States to take action to combat inter-ethnic extortion, for example by employing police officers of different nationalities who have been trained to encourage cooperation and increase victims’ trust in the authorities; calls on the Commission, in its proposal for a directive on the confiscation of the proceeds of organised crime to extend the measures currently provided for in Article 3(1) of Framework Decision 2005/212/JHA to the offence of extortion;
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 26 d (new) 26d. Endorses the decisions set out in the Council resolution of 23 October 2009 on a reinforced strategy for customs cooperation, with particular reference to the development of new forms of cooperation and new investigative techniques, the adoption of an institutional approach based on cooperation between customs services, the police and other competent authorities, and improvements to the existing cooperation process in order to develop an effective approach to fighting cross- border organised crime and allow the confiscation of illicit goods across the EU; maintains that the greatest possible emphasis must be placed on these aspects in the context of the adoption and implementation of the Fifth Action Plan for Customs Law Enforcement Cooperation;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 27 27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 28 a (new) - having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein and the Commission recommendation of 13 June 2007 identifying a set of actions for the enforcement of the regulation,
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 28 b (new) - having regard to the ‘Study on extortion racketeering: the need for an instrument to combat activities of organised crime’, carried out by Transcrime in 2008 and financed by the Commission,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 28 c (new) - having regard to the Council resolution of 25 September 2008 on a comprehensive European anti-counterfeiting and anti- piracy plan and the Council resolution of 23 October 2009 on a reinforced strategy for customs cooperation,
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 a (new) - having regard to Written Declaration 2/2010 of the European Parliament on the Union’s efforts in combating corruption,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 b (new) - having regard to Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of 20 November 2008 – Proceeds of organised crime: ensuring that “crime does not pay” [COM(2008) 766]
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 c (new) - having regard to Council Decision 2007/845/JHA of 6 December 2007 concerning cooperation between Asset Recovery Offices of the Member States in the field of tracing and identification of proceeds from, or other property related to, crime and having regard to Commission report COM(2011)176 based on Article 8 of that decision,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 c (new) - having regard to Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA of 6 October 2006 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to confiscation orders,
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 a (new) - A. Whereas the enlargement of the Schengen Area, which brings for example source countries of human trafficking within the area of free movement, makes it more important to develop effective strategies on combating organised crime within the European Union;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 a (new) - whereas one of the primary objectives of the European Union to create an area of freedom, security and justice without internal borders, in which crime is prevented and combated (Article 3 of the TFE), and to ensure a high level of security through measures to prevent and combat crime and measures for coordination and cooperation between police and judicial authorities and other competent authorities, as well as through the mutual recognition of judgements in criminal matters and, if necessary, through the approximation of criminal laws (Article 67 TFEU),
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 b (new) - whereas organised crime has a substantial social cost, in that it violates human rights, undermines democratic principles, diverts and wastes financial, human and other resources, distorting the free internal market, contaminating businesses and legitimate economic activities, encouraging corruption and polluting and destroying the environment,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 c (new) - whereas the activities of organised criminals can thwart the European Union’s political and financial objectives,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 d (new) - whereas alarming evidence that has emerged from the courts and from investigations by police and journalists indicates that, in some Member States, organised crime has infiltrated, and become solidly entrenched in, political circles, the public sector and legitimate economic activities; whereas it is conceivable that similar inroads have also been made, thereby strengthening the position of organised crime, in the rest of the European Union;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 e (new) - whereas the purpose and basis of organised crime is to make an economic profit and consequently if action to prevent and combat the problem is to be effective, it must focus on identifying, freezing, seizing and confiscating the proceeds of crime; whereas the legal framework which currently exists at EU level does not appear to be an adequate basis for serious action to tackle the problem and we need legislation which would, for example, allow so-called ‘extended confiscation’ and action targeting assets registered in the name of front persons and organisations; whereas, moreover, the re-use of confiscated assets for social purposes fosters a positive attitude to strategies aimed at tackling organised crime, since confiscating an asset is no longer regarded solely as a means of depriving a criminal organisation of resources but is doubly constructive in that it both helps to prevent organised crime and has the effect of boosting economic and social development,
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 f (new) - whereas criminal organisations are concentrating their activities on a large number of ever-expanding fields including, for example, international drug trafficking, trafficking in and the exploitation of human beings, financial crime, international arms trafficking, counterfeiting, cybercrime, environmental crime, the diversion of public funds, fraud and extortion, most of which activities are trans-national and pan-European by nature; whereas a large proportion of the proceeds of these criminal activities are laundered,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 g (new) - whereas the Member States’ borders are no obstacle to organised crime, with the result that, to all intents and purposes, a European ‘criminal area’ could be said to exist; whereas organised crime exploits, for its criminal ends, the free movement of capital, goods, persons and services throughout the European Union; whereas, on the other hand, borders are still an obstacle to the activities of the investigative and judicial authorities in the various Member States,
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 h (new) - whereas, although no comprehensive study exists, the mafia-style criminal organisations operating in Europe have an impressively large turnover, particularly in the case of Italian organised crime groups, which, as found by many studies (including the Eurispes study) and confirmed by the joint Eurojust, Europol and Frontex report in 2010, are conservatively estimated to have revenues of at least EUR 135 billion, a figure which is higher than the combined GDP of 6 EU Member States; the foremost example is the ‘ndrangheta, the most deeply entrenched mafia group in the EU countries and in the world, which has an estimated annual turnover of at least EUR 44 billion;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 b (new) - having regard to the Council Conclusions on Confiscation and Asset Recovery (7769/3/10),
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 i (new) - whereas, in reply to written question E- 6701/2010, the Commission stated that it was aware of the involvement of mafia- type criminal organisations located in Italy in virtually all types of illegal activities and that, even though their strongholds were in Southern Italy, they had developed ramifications in many, if not all, EU Member States; whereas, moreover, mafia groups of this kind have demonstrated their ability to expand far beyond EU borders (to Australia, US, Canada, and Latin America) and to establish working relations with criminal organisations such as the Chinese, Turkish, Russian and Nigerian mafias, Albanian criminal organisations and Columbian and Mexican drug cartels;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 j (new) - whereas, in 2008, the Governor of the Bank of Spain announced that an abnormally large number of EUR 500 banknotes, amounting to EUR 110 million out of a total of EUR 464 million, were in circulation in the eurozone and that, in the 1998-2008 period, of all the members of the three Italian mafia groups arrested abroad while on the run, almost a third (44 out of 149) were caught in Spain; whereas the Duisburg massacre is only the highest-profile indication of the presence of the ‘ndrangheta in Germany and shows that that criminal organisation regards that area as an offshoot of its own territory; whereas, moreover, Duisburg is a crime hub because of its proximity both to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, where the main transport routes for drugs arriving in Europe from West Africa and Latin America terminate, and to Frankfurt, the main European financial centre,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 k (new) - whereas action is required to prevent criminal organisations, particularly mafia-type groups, from exploiting the differences between the Member States’ respective criminal systems, taking advantage of those where penalties are less severe, prison conditions are less harsh and investigative procedures are less effective;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 l new) - whereas the most distinctive feature of mafia-type criminal organisations is their ability to intimidate, which is deeply rooted in the socio-cultural and economic fabric, irrespective of any actual threat or violence; whereas this feature of such organisations enables them to exercise a more pervasive and deeply entrenched influence, oppressing society and enabling the criminal organisation to exert full control over the territory through social interactions and activities which may appear to be legitimate; whereas mafia-type criminal organisations have an extraordinary ability to interact with other powerful interests, including political and economic forces;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 m (new) - whereas the history of criminal organisations, particularly mafia-type organisations, shows that at times of economic and social crisis or momentous changes (most recently, globalisation) they are able to reinvent themselves, extend their sphere of operations, and conquer new territory and new markets; whereas, moreover, criminal organisations are continually innovating, both in terms of their methods and the scope of their activities (most recently, cybercrime and the fixing of sporting events);
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 n (new) - whereas studies, including the 2011 OCTA (EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment) suggest that there is a risk that criminal organisations may cooperate increasingly frequently with terrorist organisations, particularly in connection with international drug trafficking;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 o (new) - whereas the threat to the European Union from organised crime goes beyond the borders of the Union and must, therefore, be addressed with due regard to the need for a global and international approach requiring close cooperation with third countries and with international organisations such as, for example, Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 p (new) - whereas the intense activity of the Russian mafia in the European Union is shown both by the presence of criminal organisations of that kind on Member States’ territory and by the criminal organisations based in Russia which use the EU as the target market for their illegal trafficking and to recycle the proceeds of their criminal activities; whereas the main areas in which they operate in the EU are trafficking in goods, trafficking in human beings for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking in drugs (particularly heroin but, more recently, also cocaine and synthetic drugs) and drug precursors, investment and contamination of legitimate economic activities, high-tech international fraud, VAT-related fraud, crimes against property, extortion and racketeering; whereas the Russian mafias have at their disposal incredible economic and financial power and considerable political influence, with sizeable interests in basic sectors such as the gas industry and the energy sector in general; whereas the greatest cause for concern is the indirect impact of these criminal organisations’ intensive money laundering and investment activities, which distort and sometimes destroy the free market and enable criminal organisations to infiltrate and establish themselves inside legitimate organisations;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 q (new) - whereas the findings of police and judicial investigations have demonstrated the extremely dangerous nature of some African criminal organisations, particularly the Nigerian mafia, which is very actively engaged in trafficking in women for prostitution in Nigeria itself and in international drug trafficking and the distribution of heroin and cocaine on local markets; whereas this extremely violent mafia-type group is present in several Member States;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 r (new) - whereas West Africa plays a crucial role in trafficking in cannabis (of which Morocco is the main producer) and cocaine from Latin America; whereas this region of Africa is also a hub for trafficking in human beings for the European market for the purpose of sexual exploitation or the exploitation of cheap, illegal labour; whereas, moreover, a range of criminal organisations are involved in the trafficking operations which pass through, or originate in, West Africa, including in particular Russian criminal organisations (trafficking in cocaine for the EU), Chinese criminal organisations (trafficking in drug precursors) and Turkish criminal organisations (trafficking in contraband tobacco and heroin);
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 d (new) - having regard to the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (CETS No 198),
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 s (new) - whereas the growing presence in various Member States of Asian criminal organisations engaged in a range of activities including trafficking in, and the commercial exploitation of, human beings, fraud, trafficking in drugs (particularly synthetic drug precursors and synthetic marijuana), money laundering, the production of, and trafficking in, counterfeit goods, fraud in connection with betting on sporting events; whereas these organisations primarily operate within their own ethnic communities, which makes it more difficult for the competent authorities to investigate their activities due to language and cultural barriers and the closed nature of some such communities;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 t (new) - whereas, even though there is general consensus at European and national level on the need for political action to tackle organised crime, and mafia-type organisations in particular, an ongoing European political debate should be started with a view to ensuring greater awareness and better analysis of this complex phenomenon and the forms it is taking, in order to provide the public with the best means of tackling it in time;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 u (new) - whereas, on 8 and 9 November 2010, the Council of the European Union adopted its ‘Conclusions on the creation and implementation of a EU policy cycle for organised and serious international crime’ endorsing ‘a multi-annual policy cycle with regard to serious international and organised crime in order to tackle the most important criminal threats in a coherent and methodical manner through optimum cooperation between the relevant services of the Member States, EU institutions and EU agencies as well as relevant third countries and organisations’; whereas the policy cycle consists of the following four steps: policy development on the basis of a threat assessment, policy-setting and decision- making through the identification of a limited number of priorities, implementation and monitoring of annual operational action plans, and a thorough evaluation to serve as input for the next policy cycle; whereas COSI, the Member States, the Commission and the European agencies are instructed to implement a cycle, with precise time frames set for each action; whereas the current policy cycle covers the 2011-2013 period, and the next policy cycle will cover a four-year period;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Recital 30 v (new) - whereas, despite the difficulties involved in encapsulating such a complex problem at international level, establishing a common and more accurate definition of organised crime is both an important means of signalling the political will to tackle the problem and an essential prerequisite to enable the European Union to take action in this area (for example, combating organised crime falls within the remit of Eurojust and Europol); whereas a more restricted and specific definition of organised crime would make it possible to identify more accurately the precise nature of the threats from organised crime, thus enabling the EU’s activities to be more focussed and justifying the need for tougher action in terms of penalties, more effective investigative methods and greater judicial cooperation; whereas, unless the definition of organised crime at European level is tightened up, limited resources and means will be used to tackle a whole range of activities whose impact is not always equally serious;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 w (new) – whereas, as shown by various scientific studies and the declarations by the Commission and many Member States annexed to Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA, the current definition of organised crime at EU level set out in the decision is too broad and flexible, which can lead to substantial differences between Member States in the way the rules are implemented; whereas the current rules provide for a quantitative approach whereby, for the offence of membership of a criminal organisation to be deemed to exist, the supposed offence must punishable by a custodial sentence of at least four years; whereas that approach creates a situation in which there are wide variations between the various countries’ sentencing and criminal systems as regards the offence of membership of a criminal organisation, which undermines one of the principle requirements for action to combat organised crime, namely that these offences are dealt with identically in all the different Member States, particularly in the case of organised crime operating at transnational level;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 x (new) – whereas one of the greatest difficulties in connection with investigations aimed at tackling transnational organised crime is the lack, in many Member States, of legislation on the use of basic instruments such as environmental interception, delayed seizure, delayed arrest, searches conducted at night, controlled delivery, supervised delivery and undercover operations; whereas, moreover, Article 87(2)(c) of the TFEU states that the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, may establish measures concerning common investigative techniques in relation to the detection of serious forms of organised crime;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 y (new) – whereas the question of the remit and modus operandi of Eurojust and Europol is of crucial importance in relation to improving the effectiveness of action to tackle transnational organised crime and strengthening police and judicial cooperation at EU level; whereas the process of defining, at institutional level, the respective tasks of Eurojust, Europol and OLAF should also be geared to enhancing the level of cooperation and collaboration between them;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 z (new) – whereas it is vitally important to develop constructive relations and synergies between Europol and Eurojust and the national authorities in order to ensure effective joint action to tackle organised crime and create the climate of trust which is an essential prerequisite for the exchange of information and full cooperation;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 z (new) - mutual trust and direct contacts are essential ways of improving the philosophy of cooperation that should apply among the Member States’ judicial authorities and police forces,
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 a a (new) - whereas to improve coordination of investigations and criminal prosecutions, priority should be given to full, correct, and prompt implementation of Framework Decision 2009/426/JHA on the strengthening of Eurojust; whereas the TFEU calls for Eurojust’s tasks to be developed further, exceeding their present scope (Article 85), and for a European Public Prosecutor’s Office to be set up to combat serious crime having a cross- border dimension (Article 86); whereas Articles 85 and 86 also imply that, in addition to strengthening Eurojust, its work must be assessed in the proper manner by the European Parliament and the national parliaments,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 5 e (new) - having regard to the study ‘Assessing the effectiveness of EU Member States’ practices in the identification, tracing, freezing’ (2009), instigated by the Commission,
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 a b (new) - whereas Europol’s prime aim is to support and strengthen both action by the Member States’ proper authorities and cooperation among those authorities in preventing and combating organised crime,
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 undefined (new) - whereas, as stated in Article 82(1) of the TFEU, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU must be based on the principle of mutual recognition of judgments and judicial decisions,
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 a (new) - whereas, as Eurojust noted in its 2009 annual report, the practical obstacles to judicial cooperation, as well as in the difficulties stemming from poor translations or uninformative requests for mutual judicial assistance and in the failure to acknowledge receipt of letters rogatory, lie first and foremost in the dearth of resources at national level, making it impossible to respond to requests in time, and in the fact that requests from other Member States are considered less important than national proceedings; whereas, in addition, Eurojust notes that the main legal obstacles to judicial cooperation lie in the differences among Member States in terms of criminal procedure and draws attention in particular to the differences as regards interception (wire-tapping and bugging), the questioning of witnesses, witness protection, and requirements relating to evidence, This recital must be placed after Alfano Amendment 53)
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 b (new) - whereas Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant has been implemented by Member States only after a considerable delay and, in many cases, under implementing provisions contrary to the spirit of the decision, for instance as regards the use of grounds for mandatory or optional non-execution by an executing state,
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 c (new) - whereas, despite its limitations, the European arrest warrant is the first real manner of giving effect to the principle of mutual recognition by EU Member States of decisions in criminal matters and whereas the facts show beyond dispute that it has been widely used and produced good results, albeit with room for improvement; whereas, furthermore, the European arrest warrant procedure is based on a high degree of trust between Member States and on the principle underlying judicial cooperation, namely mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters,
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 d (new) - whereas one ground-breaking experiment which has proved successful is the Nordic arrest warrant, which differs from the European arrest warrant to the extent that it applies to all offences punishable by imprisonment, does away completely with the double criminality requirement, and provides for fewer grounds for mandatory non-execution and shorter time-frames for execution,
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 e (new) - whereas the 2005-2010 Hague Programme repeatedly stressed the importance of joint investigation teams and whereas Member States should be encouraged to use this tool to fight organised crime; whereas joint investigation teams are still underused and whereas some Member States have not yet transposed or implemented the rules set out in the 2000 Convention and the framework decision; whereas the teams have nevertheless demonstrated their usefulness and potential in combating transnational organised crime; whereas there are, however, operational difficulties regarding the wider use of joint investigation teams, including for example the admissibility of evidence from one court to another, the high costs, and the drafting of detailed agreements to set teams up,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 f (new) - whereas unceasing work is needed to make organised crime statistics more useful, accurate, and suitable for international comparison; whereas a uniform approach should be laid down for the collection and use of data on organised crime and related phenomena with a view to carrying out a pragmatic strategic analysis leading to the adoption of control measures serving to combat and prevent organised crime more effectively; whereas, finally, to carry out targeted investigations and plan society’s response to organised crime, it is necessary to have an understanding, based on operational data (for example on suspect individuals and identified cases) and empirical data (qualitative and quantitative criminological data), of the profile, motivations, modus operandi, scale, and trends of organised crime, its impact on civil society, and the effectiveness of the response,
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 g (new) - whereas corruption is the standard means by which organised criminals employ blackmail or dispense rewards in order to divert public resources and worm their way into local politics, government, and the private sector,
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 h (new) - whereas Community funding and, more generally, public money can be used by organised criminals to control the legal economy and distort democratic rules, as well as for money laundering purposes; whereas, as was stated in the Amsterdam action plan as long ago as 1997, the EU strategy should seek to prevent organised criminals from penetrating the public sector and the law-abiding private sector; whereas, in accordance with Article 45 of Directive 2004/18/EC, candidates or tenderers may not take part in public contracts if they have been the subject of a conviction by final judgment on account of participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, laundering of the proceeds of illicit activities, or similar offences,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 – having regard to the OCTA reports (European Organised Crime Threat Assessment) drawn up
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 i (new) - whereas money laundering is one of the most insidious channels enabling legitimate activities to be contaminated by illicit activities and an indispensable transition process, without which the purchasing power acquired through crime would remain merely potential, usable within illegal circles but incapable of translating into real economic power; whereas cooperation and international collaboration are essential in order to tackle money laundering effectively,
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 j (new) - whereas on 5 April 2010 the International Monetary Fund published two reports, an official document entitled ‘Recent Experiences in Managing Capital Inflows – Cross-Cutting Themes and Possible Policy Framework’ and a staff discussion paper entitled ‘Managing Capital Inflows: What Tools to Use’, in which, after more than two decades of capital market liberalisation, it suggests when countries should control international capital movements and what types of control should be applied, depending on the particular circumstances,
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 k (new) - whereas on 14 July 2009 the European Investment Bank, responding to the anxieties expressed by some European governments and various civil society organisations, adopted a revised and expanded policy on offshore financial centres and updated that policy – with a new name referring to non-cooperative jurisdictions – on 15 December 2010, in line with recent international developments; whereas although it is one of the few international financial institutions to have a specific policy, the European Investment Bank is today still a prominent financial backer of private actors registered in jurisdictions frequently criticised for their lack of transparency in fiscal matters and for the excessively favourable taxation conditions that they offer to foreign investors, adversely affecting the economies of other countries,
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 l (new) - whereas international drug trafficking is the main source of profit for organised criminals and mafias, providing the basis for them to establish themselves economically and socially; whereas the EU is both one of the largest markets for drug trafficking (heroin, cocaine, and cannabis) and a producer (more often than not of synthetic drugs); whereas the trafficking also extends to many clearly identifiable non-European production and transit countries, especially in Latin America, West Africa, and Asia,
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 l (new) - whereas extortion racketeering and usury are two ways in which organised criminals infiltrate the legal economy, severely distorting any form of free market and curtailing the rights of citizens, entrepreneurs, workers, and professionals; whereas, as was shown by the 2008 Commission-funded Transcrime study entitled ‘Study on Extortion Racketeering: the Need for an Instrument to Combat Activities of Organised Crime’, this phenomenon is assuming alarming proportions in at least half of the EU Member States and exists on a significant scale in the other half; whereas the spread of extortion racketeering stands in a direct relationship to the extent of the control of a country and its economic/business and political activities exercised by organised criminals; whereas the first essential steps to take to combat extortion racketeering effectively are to encourage victims to report offences and to ensure that official authorities maintain a strong presence,
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 30 m (new) - whereas counterfeiting of goods is one of the main sources of profit for organised criminals, undermining the protection of intellectual property rights, fair competition among firms, environmental protection, the protection of workers’ rights, and consumer protection,
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 1 1. Welcomes the measures to curb organised crime proposed in the Stockholm Programme, in the relevant action plan and in the internal security strategy; applauds the work of the Hungarian Council Presidency in this area and hopes that under the new trio Presidency, starting with the Polish Presidency, combating organised crime will be included among the political priorities and tangible results achieved;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is convinced that organised crime is one of the key threats to the internal security of the EU; considers that it should be treated separately from terrorism and calls for a specific, horizontal EU strategy on the issue, including legislative and operational
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is convinced that organised crime is one of the key threats to the internal security of the EU; considers that, although organised crime and terrorism are often intertwingely connected with each other within illicit networks, it should be treated separately from terrorism, , and calls for a specific, horizontal EU strategy on the issue, including legislative and operational measures, the allocation of funds and a strict implementation timetable;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is convinced that organised crime is one of the key threats to the internal security of the EU; considers that it should be treated
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to the annual reports of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction on the state of the drugs problem in Europe,
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is convinced that organised crime is one of the key threats to the internal security of the EU and the freedom of its citizens; considers that it should be treated separately from terrorism and calls for a specific, horizontal EU strategy on the issue, including legislative and operational measures, the allocation of funds and a strict implementation timetable; endorses the Council conclusions of 8-9 November 2010, but considers it unacceptable that the EU policy cycle for organised crime should be drawn up and implemented without the involvement of the European Parliament; calls on the Council, therefore, to revise the decision without delay and make provision for Parliament’s participation and involvement explicitly for the purposes of determining priorities, discussing the strategic objectives, and monitoring and periodic assessment of the outcome ensuing from implementation of the annual operational plans and the multi- annual strategic plan;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Is convinced that organised crime
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Member States to clarify their political will to combat organised crime,
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Member States to clarify their political will to combat organised crime, first and foremost by strengthening their judicial authorities and police forces based on the best current experience and by assigning adequate human and financial resources for that purpose; calls on the Member States to resolutely pursue a proactive approach to investigation, draw up national plans to combat organised crime, and provide for central coordination of activities by appropriate specific machinery, taking their cue from the most successful experiences that have already occurred in some Member States; calls for the action plans to be encompassed within a common European framework and put forward for common consideration at meetings to be held at least annually and attended not only by the authorities of the Member States, but also by European institutions and agencies;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3. Calls on the Member States to clarify their political will to combat organised crime, first and foremost by strengthening their judicial authorities and police forces based on the best current experience and by assigning adequate human and financial resources for that purpose, setting up specific pools within the judicial authorities and police forces – modelled for example on the Palermo Anti-Mafia Pool – with the task of fighting mafias and organised crime;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Is aware that activities connected with organised crime are worth several billion euros and that the turnover from organised crime is constantly rising;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Notes that the methods, structures and impact on society of organised crime are becoming increasingly diverse, and that there is a need, therefore, to adapt to the new forms of organised criminal activity;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4. Calls for all measures to counter organised crime to respect fundamental rights in full and be proportionate to achieving their objective in a democratic society, without restricting the freedom of the individual, which is constitutionally recognised in the laws of the Member States;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 4.
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Citation 7 a (new) - having regard to the Joint Report by Europol, Eurojust and Frontex on the state of internal security in the EU (2010),
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 4 a (new) 4a. Calls for account to be taken of the fact that the new communications technologies facilitate the diversification and expansion of illegal activities linked to organised crime;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Is aware that organised crime cannot proliferate without the aid, the complicity, or even the mere indifference of the political world, and expresses deep concern about the evidently increasing interpenetration of organised crime and politics, involving the creation of a so- called grey area which is seriously jeopardising the credibility and true democratic nature of the institutions; expresses equal concern over the proven ability of organised crime to infiltrate the nerve centres of general government at all levels and the economic and financial fabric;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Is aware that organised crime cannot proliferate without the aid, the complicity, or even the mere indifference of the political world, and expresses deep concern about the evidently increasing interpenetration of organised crime and politics, involving the creation of a so-
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Is aware that organised crime cannot proliferate without the aid, the complicity, or even the mere indifference of the political world
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5.
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Welcomes the adoption of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, a phenomenon often related to the activities of organised crime in the form of the exploitation of prostitution and labour, the removal of organs and enslavement;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6.
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Stresses that to counter transnational organised crime requires an effort on the part of the Member States and calls on them to approximate their legislation, especially with reference to the development of common, standard procedures and types of criminal offence,
source: PE-464.937
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History
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2015-01-08Show (6) Changes | Timetravel
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2014-11-10Show (5) Changes
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