Glossary of Institutions, policies and enlargement of the European Union
(Starting with "F")
©
European Communities, 1995-2007
http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/index_en.htm
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Fight
against drugs
The fight against drugs involves various
activities, geared mainly to preventing addiction
and combating illicit trafficking. The specific legal
basis for European Union action depends on the type
of measure undertaken.
Combating illicit drug trafficking
has been clearly identified by the Treaty of Amsterdam
as an objective under the new Title VI of the Treaty
on European Union, and thus falls within the scope
of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
As far as preventing drug addiction
is concerned, that aspect is covered by Article 152
of the Treaty establishing the European Community,
which stipulates that "the Community shall complement
the Member States' action in reducing drugs-related
health damage, including information and prevention".
In the light of the conclusions of
the European Council meetings held in Cardiff (June
1998) and in Vienna (December 1998), the Council,
the Commission and Parliament were asked to develop
a comprehensive drugs strategy to follow on from the
action plan covering the period 1995-99. The Commission's
response to this request was to present:
- a drugs strategy (2000-04);
- an action plan (2003-08).
In December 2004, the European Council
approved a European drugs strategy for the period
2005-12, comprising two action plans for the periods
2005-08 and 2008-12.
The fight against illicit drug trafficking
is led by Europol's "Drugs" Unit, an intelligence
unit which facilitates police and customs cooperation
between the Member States.
The European Monitoring Centre for
Drugs and Drug Addiction, based in Lisbon, is responsible
for providing the Community and its Member States
with objective, reliable and comparable information
giving an overview of the drugs and drug addiction
phenomenon and its consequences.
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Fight
against fraud
The fight against fraud and corruption
is part of the general efforts to combat organised
crime but also concerns the more specific issue of
countering all illegal activities adversely affecting
the financial interests of the Community. It rests
on two legal bases:
- Article 29 of the Treaty on European
Union, in the field of police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters, calls for "closer cooperation
between police forces, customs authorities and other
competent authorities in the Member States, both
directly and through the European Police Office
(Europol);
- Article 280 of the Treaty establishing
the European Community concerns activities affecting
the Community's financial interests and requires
the Council and the European Parliament to adopt
measures under the codecision procedure after consulting
the Court of Auditors.
Since June 1999, the body tasked with
combating fraud has been the European Anti-Fraud Office
(OLAF), which replaces the fraud prevention task force
(UCLAF) set up in 1988.
At the Nice Intergovernmental Conference
(February 2000), in order to strengthen Community
action in this area, the Commission proposed incorporating
into the Treaties a legal basis for establishing a
system of rules on criminal-law proceedings for transnational
fraud and appointing a European public prosecutor
to coordinate investigations and prosecute offences
involving the Union's financial interests. This proposal
was followed by a Green Paper (December 2001) on criminal-law
protection of the Community's financial interests,
suggesting the appointment of a European prosecutor.
The European Constitution now being
ratified retains the wording of Article 280 of the
EC Treaty, omitting part of the article but opening
the way for the Union to take appropriate criminal-law
measures to protect its financial interests. The Constitution
also provides for a European Public Prosecutor's Office
to be established from Eurojust in order to combat
crimes affecting the financial interests of the Union.
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Fight
against organised crime
The fight against organised crime,
which forms part of police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters (Treaty on European Union, Title
VI, third pillar) is intended to afford the public
a high level of safety within an area of freedom,
security and justice.
EU policy seeks to prevent and combat
organised crime. It is informed by and complements
the work of the international organisations.
Implementation is largely based on
alignment of national criminal law in this area and
on the work of Europol and, to a certain extent, of
Eurojust.
Efforts to combat organised crime
rest on the five-year programme adopted in 2004 in
The Hague, following on from the 1999 Tampere programme.
A centrepiece is the development of a strategic concept
envisaged by the Hague programme and presented by
the Commission in 2005.
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Fight
against racism and xenophobia
The first key measure in the fight
against racism was the resolution adopted by the Council
and the representatives of the Member States in July
1996, declaring 1997 to be the "European Year against
Racism".
Since the advent of the Amsterdam
Treaty, Article 13 has provided a basis for combating
all forms of discrimination based on sex, racial or
ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age
or sexual orientation. It was on the basis of this
Article that in June 2000 the Council adopted an important
directive implementing the principle of equal treatment
between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.
In the same year the Council also
adopted a Community action programme to combat discrimination
(2001-06) designed to support schemes to prevent and
combat discrimination based on race or ethnic origin.
In addition to committing itself to
the implementation of Article 13, the European Union
has pursued its efforts to integrate the fight against
racism and xenophobia into all its policies: in particular
employment, the European Structural Funds, education,
training and youth. Moreover, Article 29 of the Treaty
on European Union, inserted by the Amsterdam Treaty,
provides a legal basis for the fight against racism
and xenophobia in the fields of police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters.
Entry into force of the Nice Treaty
(1 February 2003) supplemented the penalty mechanism
already provided for by the Amsterdam Treaty with
a prevention or warning mechanism, particularly targeting
human rights abuses such as racism, xenophobia and
anti-Semitism.
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Fight
against terrorism
Article 29 of the Treaty on European
Union refers specifically to terrorism as a serious
crime. The Union's efforts to combat terrorism fall
under the third pillar, i.e. police and judicial cooperation
in criminal matters (EU Treaty, Title VI).
Terrorist offences are defined as
intentional acts such as kidnapping or hostage taking,
release of dangerous substances, causing fires, floods
or explosions the effect of which is to endanger human
life, murders and acts which may seriously damage
a country or an international organisation where committed
with the aim of seriously intimidating a population,
coercing the public authorities, or seriously destabilising
or destroying the fundamental political structures
(Framework Decision of 13 June 2002).
In the battle against terrorism, the
European Union has a number of specific tools which
make it easier for the Member States' law enforcement
agencies to provide mutual assistance:
- Europol;
- Eurojust;
- the European arrest warrant;
- joint investigation teams, comprising
leading members of enforcement authorities in the
Member States and, if required, Europol personnel.
Other tools are concerned more directly
with terrorist organisations, their members and operations.
These include a common list of persons whose terrorist
assets must be confiscated.
Since the attacks in the United States
on 11 September 2001, the main stages in the development
of the Union's anti-terrorist policy have been marked
by various events:
- an action plan for closer police
and judicial cooperation on counter-terrorism was
adopted by the European Council meeting in extra-ordinary
session on 21 September 2001 following the 11 September
attacks;
- a declaration that all the Member
States will act jointly in a spirit of solidarity
if one of them is the victim of a terrorist attack,
mobilising all the instruments at their disposal,
including military resources, was issued at the
European Council meeting in March 2004, following
the Madrid attacks on 11 March 2004;
- a counter-terrorism strategy was
adopted in December 2005, following the London bombings;
this centred on the approaches "prevent", "protect",
"disrupt", "respond".
The efforts to combat terrorism are
currently based on the five-year programme adopted
in 2004 in The Hague. This sets out action priorities
for 2005-2010.
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Financial
perspective
The financial perspective forms the
framework for Community expenditure over a period
of several years. It is the product of an interinstitutional
agreement between the European Parliament, the Council
and the Commission and indicates the maximum volume
and the composition of the foreseeable Community expenditure.
It is adjusted annually by the Commission to take
account of prices and the development of Community
GNP. However, it should be noted that the financial
perspective is not a multiannual budget since the
annual budgetary procedure remains essential to determine
the actual amount of expenditure and the breakdown
between the different budget headings.
To date, four interinstitutional agreements
of this type have been concluded, the first in 1988,
the second in 1992, the third in 1999, and the fourth
in 2006:
- the 1988-92 financial perspective
(Delors I package);
- the 1993-99 financial perspective
(Delors II package);
- the 2000-06 financial perspective;
- the 2007-13 financial perspective.
The European Constitution, which is
in the process of ratification, incorporates the financial
perspective for the first time in a Treaty under the
name of the "multiannual financial framework". This
framework will be adopted unanimously by the Council
following approval by the European Parliament. However,
However, there is a "bridging" clause which gives
the European Council the option of deciding unanimously
to change over to majority voting.
This multiannual financial framework
is intended to ensure that expenditure develops in
an orderly fashion, always remaining within the limits
of the Union's own resources. It places a ceiling
on annual expenditure in the Union's major spheres
of activity for a period of at least five years.
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Food
safety
The European Union has made food safety
one of the main priorities of its policy agenda. It
is a horizontal objective to be taken into account
in several areas of Community competence: the CAP
and its rural development pillar, the environment,
public health, consumer protection and the internal
market.
In response to the food scares of
the 1990s (BSE, foot-and-mouth disease), in January
2000 the European Commission published a White Paper
on food safety, which marks an important step in the
recasting of European legislation in this area. It
heralds the development of a legal framework covering
the entire food chain - "from farm to fork" - using
a global, integrated approach. This approach sees
food safety as covering animal feed and animal health,
animal protection and welfare, veterinary checks,
animal health measures, plant health checks, and the
preparation and hygiene of foodstuffs. The White Paper
also stresses the need to launch an ongoing dialogue
with consumers in order to inform and educate them.
Adopted in February 2002, the Regulation
forming the basis of the new food safety legislation
defines six fundamental general principles:
- an affirmation of the integrated
nature of the food chain;
- risk analysis as the cornerstone
of food safety policy;
- a clear dividing-line between the
analysis and management of risks;
- the responsibility of operators
in the sector;
- the traceability of products at
every stage of the food chain;
- the citizen's right to clear and
accurate information.
The European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) has been set up. Its main tasks are to provide
independent scientific opinions on food safety issues,
to collect and analyse data on any potential or emerging
risks and to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the
public. In particular, it issues scientific opinions
on certain foodstuffs or ingredients (additives, GMOs).
The Brussels European Council held in December 2003
established the EFSA's headquarters in Parma, Italy.
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Free
movement of persons (visas, asylum, immigration and
other policies)
Title IV of the Treaty establishing
the European Community (EC Treaty) sets out the European
Union's policy on "visas, asylum, immigration and
other policies related to free movement of persons".
These areas of Community action are linked to the
progressive institution of an area of freedom, security
and justice and cover the following:
- free movement of persons;
- external border controls;
- asylum, immigration and safeguarding
of the rights of third-country nationals;
- judicial cooperation in civil matters.
Following a five-year transition period
after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam
(May 1999), the Commission has sole right of initiative
and the codecision procedure applies, except that
in certain areas, such as judicial cooperation in
family law matters, the Council still acts by unanimous
decision and the European Parliament is only consulted.
The powers of the Court of Justice
of the European Communities are more limited than
usual. For example, it cannot rule on measures relating
to maintenance of public order or homeland security.
Before being incorporated into the
EC Treaty by the Treaty of Amsterdam, these fields
used to fall under Title VI of the Treaty on European
Union (third pillar). The Treaty of Amsterdam has
"communitised" them, bringing them within the legal
framework of the first pillar.
The European Constitution now being
ratified provides for policies on border controls,
visas, asylum and immigration to become common policies.
See:
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