CRIM Committee Chair Sonia Alfano tells us of anti-mafia efforts at EU level, and Carlos Coelho explains the problem with border controls in the Schengen area.

7 Days: Battling against mafias, preserving free movement of people

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/16049588/m004-0043-en.srt

Hello and welcome to  this edition of 7 Days in Europe.

Four months ago, the Parliament  set up a special committee

on organised crime,  corruption and money laundering.

to study mafia activity in Europe  and come up with concrete solutions.

Here with me today is  the committee chair, Sonia Alfano. Hello.

You are a member of the Group of Liberals  and Democrats. It's your first term here.

But you're also a mafia victim.  Your father, Beppe Alfano, a journalist,

Since then you've been fighting  against the mafia.

but first I must subject you to our  usual minute of Yes or No questions.

Was that imaginable ten years ago?  -No.

Its term of office is 12 months,  possibly another six.

Too little to defeat the European mafia?  -No.

Do other countries realise that  the mafia isn't just southern Italy?

Is it too late to eradicate  the mafia's massive business empire?

Do people want to fight mafia criminals?  - Yes.

Foreigners don't understand  why the mafia still exists in Italy.

Who's to blame, the absent state or  complicit citizens?

You've met imprisoned mafia bosses like  Riina, who are responsible for murders.

It's best to keep quiet about this for now.

Have you forgiven your father's killers?  -No.

Do you think the mafia can be defeated?  -Yes.

I had more questions but the time is up.

Thank you for playing our game.  -Thank you.

This week you organised a public hearing  with very high-profile guests.

Laeticia Markakis will tell us about it,  and the rest of the week's news.

The euro is here to stay, and the eurozone  will take measures to ensure that,

promised European Central Bank  President Mario Draghi

at a hearing in the Parliament on Monday.

The President pointed to the budgetary  efforts of Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

To the Europeans  who see no immediate results,

Mario Draghi replied that reforms  had only just begun. So, patience.

What future for regional policy after 2014?

On Wednesday and Thursday  the MEPs were expected to agree

on future European regional funds, at  the centre of which is cohesion policy.

The aim is to fund infrastructure  and development projects.

Every year tens of billions of euros  are paid to the EU’s poorest regions.

Nearly 3,000 amendments  have been tabled.

European mafias were in the MEPs’ sights  on Wednesday and Thursday.

CRIM, a new committee whose mandate is  to combat criminal organisations in Europe,

organised its very first public hearing.

Discussions focused on prevention,  investigation and crack-down.

The Industry Committee was meant to vote  on the energy efficiency directive Thursday.

The new EU law would oblige the states  to intensify their energy saving measures,

especially through  the renovation of buildings.

The EU’s objective is to improve  energy efficiency by 20% by 2020.

Right, let's get back to our discussion.

Almost four months have passed since  this antimafia committee was launched.

What have you done  in these first 100 days?

The first thing we did, after  the election of the chair and so on,

was to start listening to the people  who are involved on a daily basis

in the fight against organised crime,  corruption and money laundering.

We aim to present,  at the end of our term in office,

a plan containing legislative  and operational proposals.

To do this we need to listen to experts  from all 27 countries.

What do we need the most,  across-the-board European legislation,

What do we need the most  to fight the mafia?

We all need to be speaking  the same language.

Mafia association is a crime in Italy,  but not elsewhere.

There needs to be harmonisation  of all the legal systems.

As an Italian I know what  the crime of mafia association involves.

There was a big debate  about it 30 years ago.

why it is so important to recognise  the crime of mafia association?

Why is this crime different  from other areas of organised crime?

It's important because  since it doesn't exist in other countries,

But in Italy the crime of mafia association  is prosecuted with ad hoc legislation.

This means that  there is a criminal group

that has been brought together  with clearly defined aims.

Therefore, because of this particularity,

it is prosecuted with ad hoc legislation,  quite rightly in my opinion.

We cannot chase mafia bosses  with our antimafia legislation.

If they are caught in other countries,  we risk having them walk free

because of the lack of  specific legislation.

because in Italy mafiosi  are put in solitary confinement.

This is a unique opportunity for Europe  to catch up with Italy

which, for obvious reasons, has  the world's best antimafia legislation.

is to prevent bosses  exercising their power from prison.

what the mafia, or mafias,  means today in Europe

We're talking about a business that's  booming, even in this time of crisis.

Criminal systems have shown how  they've become established in Europe,