mr president i would like to speak on the justice and security issues covered in this report not because i am not interested in the economic aspects but because i only have three minutes
clearly there is a vital need for transatlantic cooperation to combat terrorism and major crime but it must be done in full respect of the rule of law domestic and international and of fundamental rights
for data-sharing though it must be a robust and binding legal framework of data protection
the clearest demonstration of the change in approach from president obama is the intention to close guantánamo bay
that is very welcome and this house has called on member states to respond positively to a formal request from the us to resettle about sixty low-risk or no-risk former detainees who will not be charged
that request was officially delivered last week on the occasion of the visit of vice-president barrot and minister langer and i hope that we see a result soon
i understand it is helped by the willingness now by the americans to resettle some themselves such as the seventeen uighurs
it would also be good if president obama could go further than his january executive orders and announce the closure of all cia detention centres and a total end to extraordinary rendition
full disclosure of what has happened in the last seven and a half years including the shameful use of the outsourcing of torture is necessary to ensure that there is no repeat and especially no repeat of the collusion from europe
this report adopting an amendment i tabled urges the new us administration to ratify and accede to the statute of the international criminal court
this would obviously strengthen that court
us abolition of the death penalty would similarly represent global leadership
the prompt entry into force of the eu-us extradition and legal assistance agreements would boost criminal law cooperation as well as eliminating the grey area which made extraordinary rendition flights possible
but such cooperation can only be supported if it delivers fair treatment
i have a constituent who is under threat of extradition and decades in a supermax prison because he hacked into the pentagon computer
it is alarming that he succeeded but he is a computer anorak not a terrorist and he has asperger's syndrome
the us should drop its extradition request and let him be prosecuted if at all in the uk
finally i would like to address the subject of the alde group amendments which concern online gambling
it is important to get a swift solution to this dispute which concerns bans and prosecutions by the us affecting only european internet gambling operators in illegally selective prosecutions
the us asserts in front of the wto that all internet betting is forbidden there but that is not true
us-based online betting on horse racing and indeed official state lotteries are tolerated but only foreign providers are prosecuted
i have no particular love for internet gambling indeed it worries me but discriminatory treatment in brazen defiance of wto rulings has no place in a healthy transatlantic relationship
by the way nor do visas so i hope we will have visa waiver for all eu citizens very soon
