Meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the Possible effects, including on its rights and status as member of the European Union, if a Member State decided to reintroduce the death penalty, in the EP in Brussels. Statements by Paraskevi MICHOU, European Commission, Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE),&nbsp; Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), Jussi HALLA-AHO (ECR, FI), Sophia IN'T VELD (ALDE, NL), Laura FERRARA (ELDD, IT) and P&eacute;ter NIEDERM&Uuml;LLER (S&amp;D, HU)

Brussels

meeting

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

SIPPEL, Birgit (S&D, DE)

IN 'T VELD, Sophia (Renew, NL)

ENGEL, Frank (EPP, LU)

HOHLMEIER, Monika (EPP, DE)

NIEDERMÜLLER, Péter (S&D, HU)

HALLA-AHO, Jussi (ECR, FI)

Possible effects, including on its rights and status as member of the European Union, if a Member State decided to reintroduce the death penalty: extracts from the meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

External shot of the EP building in Brussels. (1)

SOUNDBITE (English), Paraskevi MICHOU, European Commission, "Let me get straight to the point: article 2 of the EU Cahrter of Fundamental Rights prohibits any person from being condemned to death or executed."

SOUNDBITE (English), Paraskevi MICHOU, European Commission, "There is no doubt that the reintroduction of capital punishment would be contrary to the EU's fundamental values. A reintroduction of the death penalty by a Member State would therefore lead to the application of article 7 of the Treaty".

SOUNDBITE (English), Paraskevi MICHOU, European Commission, "As you know, the Treaties do not foresee suspending or withdrawing the membership of a Member State of the EU. However, article 7 provides for a far-reaching sanction mechanism, specifically designed to ensure respect of the fundamental values of article 2."

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), "Mr. Orban and his government are playing with fire, because what sense does it make to have a debate on the reintroduction of the death penalty in a European country, if there's no intention of doing it?"

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), (On the 'questionnaire on 'Immigration and Terrorism' launched by the Hungarian government) "But this questionnaire we are talking about is not a real questionnaire but a manipulation as you can read in its very title: 'Questionnaire for a consultation on immigraition and terrorism'. To produce such a connection in its title between immigration and terrorism, is excruciating." 

SOUNDBITE (German), Monika HOHLMEIER (EPP, DE), "The death penalty is not an option neither for the EPP nor for the Hungarian government, so this discussion is, thank God, obsolete for us."

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), (On whether the debate is only focusing in one country and why) "The point that we are addressing only needs to be addressed because it's always the same man and, most unfortunately the same government, who give us reason to address it."

SOUNDBITE (English), Jussi HALLA-AHO (ECR, FI), "The Hungarian government has been elected by the Hungarian people and, thus, represents <em>their </em>values. And, as Hungary is a part of Europe, I assume those values cannot be anything but European."

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), "Unlike the Finnish colleague, I don't take this as an ocasion and as a need to reflect on what exactly European values are: the have been written down. They have been consigned." (applause)

SOUNDBITE (English), Frank ENGEL (EPP, LU), " I have no awareness that ever since the end of the dictatorships in Spain, Portugal and Greece, anywhere in Western Europe a head of government would have referred to the possible necessity of reintroducing death penalty".

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN&apos;T VELD (ALDE, NL), "For me the death penalty is a barbaric medieval practice. Anywhere in the world and it has no place in the European Union. But we don't have to talk about it because we all know that Mr. Orban is making provocative statements the whole time, showing a big middle finger to the values of the European Union and he knows, as well as we do, that this doesn't mean that the death penalty will be adopted."

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN&apos;T VELD (ALDE, NL), (quoting EC Commission Vice President Timmermans' blog post) "Public consultation based on bias, on leading and even misleading questions, on prejudice about immigrants can hardly be considered a fair and objective basis for designing sound policies."

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Laura FERRARA (ELDD, IT), "Illegal immigration is not equivalent to a criminal conduct."

SOUNDBITE (Hungarian), P&#233;ter NIEDERM&#220;LLER (S&amp;D, HU), "My colleague said that this was a manouver, but why can't we speak about those shameful questionnaries?"