Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-118"
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"en.20000314.8.2-118"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, the Charter of Fundamental Rights must be an essential stage in the construction of Europe. We must provide ourselves with the means to make it the founding element of European identity, allowing Europe to make the qualitative leap it needs in order to feel that it really does exist. In this context, I should like to join my fellow Members in pointing out the need to ensure that this charter is of a binding nature, for the citizens would find it hard to understand the European Union working on defining fundamental rights if it was not then possible to guarantee them in law. Fundamental rights, and let me stress this word, fundamental rights can be no less than mandatory. If they are not, then the whole construction of Europe would lose its fundamental nature in the opinion of many people. The future charter must be included among the Treaties and this must be achieved on the occasion of the next IGC, probably the last with the current fifteen countries. France, the self-proclaimed home of human rights, must absolutely take advantage of its presidency during the second half of 2000 in order to table this amendment of the Treaties. This is a formal request which we are making to the French Government.
There are, however, two points that I would like to mention here. Firstly, I should like to stress the need for the charter to develop the concept of European citizenship due to residence. More than ever, it is essential to avoid the coexistence in Europe of distinct classes of people enjoying distinct rights. For example, how acceptable is it that an Algerian who has worked and paid taxes in France for thirty years may not vote in local elections whilst a European resident for six months in another European country can take part? This charter must make every effort to develop our definition of European citizenship based on the idea of residence. The rights that we are defining, if they are to be fundamental, must be applicable to everyone.
Secondly, I should like to stress the urgent need to include effective protection for personal data held on computer within the scope of the charter. Last month, the European Parliament in fact adopted an amendment asking for a Committee on Information Technology and European Liberties to be set up. Well, this cannot truly exist unless it is based on a solid legal standard. The charter must therefore ensure that it defines the limits of the content of files, the means permitted for data retrieval, and access methods. Moreover, at a time when certain communication systems, certain spying systems, are prohibited, we must guarantee citizens’ rights with regard to the new European bodies which are being developed, and guarantee the rights of the citizen by means of parliamentary monitoring, but also consumer rights with regard to the new Internet marketing techniques. This is a major issue for the guaranteeing of fundamental freedoms in the twenty-first century."@en1
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