NO QUESTION OF EU MAKING CRIMINAL LAW - WALLIS

1.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 13th Jun 2006

Lib Dem Legal Affairs Spokesperson, Diana Wallis MEP, speaking in advance of today's debate on the consequences of a European Court judgment handed down last September on the issue of using criminal penalties where necessary enforce certain fundamental EU policies, said:

"To dispel any misunderstanding, there is absolutely no question of the EU directly adopting or enforcing criminal sanctions against individuals.

"The issue is merely whether the Member States, acting as the Council of Ministers together with the directly elected European Parliament can adopt legislation specifically stating what type of conduct could incur criminal charges. This is an important democratic check. It would then remain up to individual countries such as the UK, who retain the primary responsibility for putting into practice the laws that they have jointly decided upon in Council, how they should implement this at home.

"The case will help ensure that for identical offences (for example, a serious environmental offence, such as the unlawful discharge of ionizing radiation or hazardous waste), the penalties applied in two given Member States (say, the UK and Portugal or Greece) are not wildly different. This will mean that the Directives in question will be effectively applied and enforced throughout the Union's territory and will not remain as merely aspirational texts .

Diana Wallis MEP further stressed the need to "define a coherent political strategy with regard to the application of criminal sanctions in European law, constantly keeping in mind the fundamental rights of European citizens".