EUobserver.com

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The parents of four-year old Madeleine McCann, who has been missing for almost a year, have called for a Europe-wide alert system for abducted children, arguing that such a system could have increased the chances of recovering their daughter.

The British girl disappeared on 3 May 2007, days before turning four, from an apartment in a Portuguese resort where the family was spending their holidays. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have always said that their child was abducted, and an investigation is still under way.

On Thursday (10 April) the McCann's called for a system which would make it possible to transmit information to the media, border and police authorities across Europe, similar to the United States' "Amber" alert system.

The goal of such a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies, media and transport companies, would be to produce an immediate information bulletin when a child is abducted in order to involve as many people as possible in searching, and possibly saving the child, Mrs McCann told a news conference in the European Parliament on Thursday (10 April).

"Time is the enemy in the case of a missing child and the goal is to instantly galvanise the entire community," she said.

Disparities within the EU
The way the disappearance of children is handled varies across the EU. While France and Greece have missing child alert systems similar to the American one, other countries – such as Portugal – restrict the diffusion of information in such cases.

The US Amber alert system was created in the US in 1996. It has helped to recover around 400 abducted children since 2003, and 68 in the last year alone, the McCann's underlined.

In France, the Amber-like system – which puts information about missing children on motorway signboards within 30 minutes of a confirmed abduction – was used five times last year, with all five children successfully recovered.

This proves the system is efficient, and therefore legal differences and hurdles among member states should be overcome to make it work on an EU-wide level, Gerry McCann said.

"In the US, the states are really very heterogeneous and there are 18,000 police forces, each with its own jurisdiction … and it has actually taken a very long time to get the [Amber alert] system implemented across the United States and working efficiently," Mr McCann said.

"There were barriers to overcome. And I am sure we've got barriers in Europe as well, but I believe that can be overcome," he added.

A declaration to member states
In October last year, EU justice and interior ministers approved a proposal put forward by EU justice commissioner Franco Frattini to create an EU-wide alert system aiming at establishing better police cooperation in cases of abducted children.

The proposal has yet to be adopted by the bloc's 27 member states, however.

Aiming to give a push to the implementation of the system, Madeleine's parents presented MEPs with a declaration that they hope "at least half" of the 785 parliamentarians will sign, and then forward to the European Commission and the Council, representing the EU states.

The document "calls on member states to introduce a missing-child alert system, the activation of which shall require the immediate supply" of information on the child and his or her disappearance "to relevant news media, border authorities, customs and law enforcement agencies."

The declaration will be open for signature during the European Parliament's next plenary session in Strasbourg, which will take place from 21 to 24 April.

Parents of missing Madeleine call for EU-wide alert system