The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the European Union’s attachment to the principles of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and of the rule of law as outlined in the preamble to the Treaty on European Union and notably in Articles 6 and 7 of that Treaty,

–  bearing in mind that, according to the European Court of Justice, the protection of fundamental rights is also part of the constitutional order of the Community,

–  bearing in mind that protecting human dignity is one of the key objectives of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as proclaimed by the institutions on 7 December 2000 and that this fundamental value would be violated in the case of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of persons if it happens for whatever reason under the direct or indirect responsibility of EU Member States and institutions,

–  having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2005 on presumed use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners(1), which, as regards the inquiry pending at the Council of Europe, envisages the need for a temporary committee of the European Parliament to be set up to accompany such an enquiry, particularly as European Union Member States are implicated,,

–  having regard to Rule 175 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the proposal of the Conference of Presidents defining the mandate and the composition of the temporary committee on the presumed use of European Union territory, including acceding, candidate and associate countries, by the CIA or the intelligence services of other third countries for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners,

1.  Decides to set up a temporary committee with the following mandate:

(a)   to collect and analyse information to find out whether:

    -   such actions, allegedly carried out in the territory of the European Union in the framework of the fight against terrorism, could be considered a violation inter alia of Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union, Articles 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the North Atlantic Treaty and its related agreements on the status of forces and the Convention on International Civil Aviation;

(b)  to submit to the plenary any recommendation that the committee deems necessary in this matter, notably concerning the political, legal and administrative consequences to be drawn at European level as well as possible consequences for EU relations with third countries;

2.  Decides that the temporary committee will liaise and cooperate as closely as possible with the Council of Europe and its Secretary-General, the Parliamentary Assembly, the European Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as with national parliaments;

3.  Decides that the temporary committee shall present an interim report to Parliament within four months after it has started its work, with detailed proposals on how it will continue its work;

4.  Decides that the temporary committee shall be composed of 46 Members of the European Parliament.

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA-PROV(2005)0529