Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-06-Speech-3-024"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000906.1.3-024"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, after the recent events in Dover, when 29 illegal Chinese immigrants suffocated to death, the tragedy of illegal immigration and the methods of responding to it have become a considerable problem, which the European Union must definitely tackle.
This problem requires us to work on a particularly sensitive issue, that of shaping and harmonising a European immigration policy. This will be one of the major issues of the twenty-first century. The European Commission’s draft directive establishing the right to family reunification is perfectly timed, and I would like to congratulate the Commission particularly on this text, which was drawn up under the auspices of Commissioner Vitorino.
The right to family reunification is crucial to normal family life. What is more, this right has long existed in the form of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to which all persons have the right to family life. But this is a particularly sensitive issue in view of the different laws existing in the various Member States, as it can come into conflict with notions of sovereignty. But that is the gauntlet that has been thrown down to the European Parliament, which must succeed in transcending these differences.
The draft directive we are being asked to give our opinion on today is, in my view, a text of major importance, and it must receive the firm backing of the European Parliament. This text holds out real prospects for legal immigration, most of which is family immigration. As has already been said, this directive is the first example of this type of structure resulting from the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Tampere European Council, which is why it is so important.
I would also like to point out that the modern world has many advantages, but for certain categories of people, including foreigners, there is a significant risk of exclusion. It is our duty as European democrats to be particularly diligent in this matter.
The directive proposed by the Commission enables us to take a major step forward, under conditions that are entirely satisfactory, but with all the necessary guarantees. There has never been any question of authorising polygamous family groupings, contrary to what I have just heard. This is utterly false. Let us remember that this is the first text in the process of integrating the ‘justice and internal affairs’ pillar into community policy in the wake of the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Tampere European Council last November. Let us also remember that this is no more and no less than a matter of establishing the right to family reunification and that we must stop seeing family reunification as a privilege.
As far as we are concerned, what is at stake is the construction of a Citizens’ Europe, something we are hoping and praying for in order to be able to continue to build Europe. It is up to us to seize this opportunity. Otherwise we will not succeed."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples