Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-14-Speech-2-043"

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"Mr President, the Charter that is now on the table for our approval is a project we can be proud of. For the first time since the European Union was established we have here the basis of a constitution, a constitution for the supranational structure that is the European Union. It is a sound document in our view, and we feel it does justice to our standards and values as Christian Democrats. It articulates to good effect the right to human dignity and integrity of the person. The same applies to respect for the family and family life, and the way in which the rights of children, the elderly and the disabled are formulated. In this way, the Charter provides additional protection for the most vulnerable members of Europe’s society, and that is to be welcomed. The Charter also strikes the right balance. In addition to the social rights, which are well articulated, the text also cites the right to have the freedom to conduct a business and to choose an occupation. It therefore strikes the right balance between those rights that are particularly dear to the hearts of the trade unions, and the rights that are more likely to be asserted by employers organisations and small and medium-sized organisations. My third observation concerns the rights of citizens from third countries. Here too we have articles that protect citizens against discrimination, for example on the labour market. That was another of our group’s aspirations. The of the Charter is Article 21, the big anti-discrimination article. This prohibits discrimination in sixteen areas. I regard it as the jewel in the crown of this Charter. This article will prove much needed, considering the way things are going and given the amount of discrimination, racism and xenophobia at large in our Member States. Mr President, it was a great honour to be able to work with my colleagues in the European Parliament and from the national parliaments on drawing up this Charter. We would like to thank Roman Herzog and Iñigo Méndez de Vigo for steering the convention to such outstanding effect and we sincerely hope that the Charter will be endorsed in Nice with the signature of our President Nicole Fontaine. Above all, let us hope that our European citizens will frequently turn to this Charter when their rights come under fire. It is intended to be for their benefit, and we hope they will take this on board with gratitude."@en1
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