Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-01-Speech-4-061"
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"en.20010301.3.4-061"2
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"The EU’s strict visa policy constitutes a major obstacle for people wishing to make their way to Europe. The fact that the visa requirements have been tightened up in recent years has unavoidably led to more cases of trafficking in human beings and to an increase in what is known as illegal immigration to the EU Member States. Those people who have been smuggled in or who have, by some other method, made their way into the European Union have often suffered great tragedies on the way. Once they have arrived in the EU, they have no rights or social protection at all.
There is a list of more than 130 countries whose citizens require visas to enter the EU. There are not even as many as 50 states which are exempt from the visa requirement. That practice, whereby a visa requirement is the rule rather than the exception, is unworthy of a democratic Europe. The basic rule must be that people are entitled to travel freely into the EU, not the other way around.
Europe must change its attitude to immigration. Within a few years’ time, there will be an acute labour shortage in the EU. That is why it is important for us to accept and welcome people seeking a better future in the EU’s Member States. A more generous visa policy is also a prerequisite for its being possible to pursue a common, humane policy on refugees and asylum. Through a positive policy on immigration, we can put a stop to organised crime and to the human tragedies for which traffickers in human beings are responsible."@en1
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