Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-121"
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"en.20000314.8.2-121"2
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"Madam President, on behalf of the
for which I am a representative to this House, I would like to express my delight at the fact that the European Charter of Fundamental Rights is, at last, being drawn up. I like to remember that, right here, in France, a couple of centuries ago, the first moves were made to define these rights, and only in North America, during the same period, were these rights actually given expression, apart from in the works of philosophers and academics, in legal documents such as the State Constitutions.
Now then, the European Union does, in effect, seem to be a little behind, but we can make up time by using this vessel. I am referring to it as a vessel because it is obviously still only a framework. We do not, as yet, know what we will put inside it. The report does, of course, contain some of the main points, but we will have to decide upon the definitive text later on. This Charter is important because, although we do have other conventions and treaties, human rights are always under threat, even within the Union. For example, I am thinking of the attempt to eliminate or cut down on the appeal procedures in lawsuits in Italy. I am thinking of the right to free elections which loses its meaning when, for example, the citizens of a country of the Union vote in a certain way, and vote freely, and then see their country penalised as a result of the outcome of the elections. The right of citizens to vote for whomsoever they choose should be respected indiscriminately for all people at all times, without sabotaging the governments and countries which emerge as a result of these elections.
Then there is not just the question of citizens’ rights: the rights of communities need to be better defined, as do the rights of peoples, those peoples which are under threat, on the one hand, from globalisation, which wants to standardise everything, and, on the other hand, from a return to a single, centralist, oppressive nation-state. In our opinion, however, we should be moving towards a Europe of peoples, peoples whose identity is not necessarily defined according to the present form of the Member States. In particular, certain rules of some of the penal codes should be altered, such as article 141 of the Italian Penal Code, which goes so far as to punish acts of secession with life imprisonment. I am not necessarily advocating secession, but I am claiming the right for anyone who might want to do so to be able to take action, in a peaceful and non-violent manner, of course, to uphold and apply this right which is sanctioned by the UN Charter, sanctioned by the Helsinki Final Act and, I hope, despite certain penal rules, will also be sanctioned by the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights."@en1
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