(Greece's Contribution to the 1996 Intergovernmental)
70. The area of Justice and Home Affairs (Title VI of the Treaty on EU) institutes intergovernmental cooperation in areas highly sensitive both to states and citizens, and directly affecting the free movement of persons, the security of the Union's citizens as well as police and judicial cooperation.
71. Greece supports the gradual «communitarisation» of some of the Third Pillar's areas, starting with asylum and immigration policy. A common asylum policy is considered necessary in light of the remarkable differences regarding the number of persons entering the Member-States resulting from the variety of procedural and actual guarantees provided by individual Member-States. A better harmonisation of procedural and substantive aspects of Member States' asylum policies is, therefore, required. A more effective implementation of immigration policy would result, inter alia, in a better control of illegal immigration.
72. The formulation of a common policy against terrorism and drugs is also required, and would also reinforce the security of the EU's citizens.
73. Due to the importance of the issues regarding cooperation in this field, and in light of the observed lack of institutional and democratic mechanisms associated therewith, it is necessary that actions of partners should be in conformity with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Beyond the provisions contained in Article K2, this could be ensured through the Union's accession to the above Convention.
74. Greece supports the reinforcement of the institutions' role which would guarantee, in conjunction with the Member-States' political will, the more effective functioning of the Third Pillar. More particularly, Greece is in favour of:
- the extension of the Commission's right of initiative in the areas of police, judicial and customs cooperation;
- the wider participation of the European Parliament in the decision- making process relating to these areas of the Third Pillar, in the form of mandatory consultation;
- the reinforcement of the role of the Court of Justice, through an expansion of its competences as regards the uniform interpretation and implementation of acts and the resolution of any emerging differences among the Member-States and between the Member-States and EU institutions.
75. In order to reinforce the cooperation aspects that are not subject to a common policy (police and judicial cooperation), we believe that the following elements, mentioned indicatively, would contribute to this purpose:
- the present decision-making based on unanimity should be reconsidered. Decision-making based on qualified majority voting should be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the matter at hand.
- the clarification of the binding character of common positions and actions provided for in Article K3.
76. In conclusion, we believe that the communitarisation of some areas through the reinforcement of the institutions and the creation of action programs with the appropriate timetables will effectively contribute to the achievement of the goals of Title VI of the Maastricht Treaty.
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