Measures to protect minors in the European Union

In adopting the report by Mrs Wilmya ZIMMERMANN (PSE, D) on the protection of minors, the European Parliament wished to see the protection of the rights of minors enshrined as a fundamental principle in the new Treaty on European Union. The Council was called on to waste no time in converting into Third Pillar joint actions the 'political agreement' reached in Dublin on 26 September 1996 on the principle of improved judicial cooperation in combating paedophilia, while at the same time not forgetting the financial requirements. Parliament also called for joint actions to prevent and combat the abduction of and trade in children and to extend the mandate of the Europol Drugs Unit to cover human trafficking and prostitution. The Commission, the Council and the Member States were urged to set up a European Centre for missing children. On the subject of new information technologies, the Council was called on to adopt proposals for preventing and combating the dissemination of paedophile material on the Internet. Parliament took the view that unaccompanied refugee children from a third country should be able to enter the territory of a Member State in order to be reunited with their family. A children's ombudsman should be appointed. Lastly, the Commission is called on to combat sex tourism. �