Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-13-Speech-2-049"
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"en.20010313.6.2-049"2
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"Mr President, I too would like to thank Mr Wiebenga for his sterling work. I can tell you that it is a very rare occasion indeed when all Dutch groups agree on refugee policy.
Although we offer our unqualified support to the report as a whole, my group would now also like to make a few observations, of which I should like to mention two.
The first concerns the much-debated Article 13(1). The Commission suggests that Member States which equate unmarried couples with married couples in their national legislation should also do so in the case of family reunification. It is not, therefore, a matter of imposing family law standards, but about equal treatment within a Member State. It is, in my view, a modest proposal, but it touches upon an important principle. I am, therefore, disappointed that this is being played down in the report, more specifically in Amendment No 22, which turns this modest proposal into an empty statement. It now claims that Member States are entitled to reunify unmarried couples. That does not require European agreement, for that is already the case now. The Commission proposal relies on solidarity among Member States and their generosity in offering reception capacity, but there is no big stick. The rapporteur attempts to make the reception scheme less non-committal, and I support him on that, but solidarity is not given any financial leverage. Like the rapporteur and some others here, I am convinced that a sharing of the financial responsibility at European level is necessary to prevent Member States from passing the buck to one another. I also believe that it is unwise to start moving people around unnecessarily. Pursuant to Article 24, the Refugee Fund has to provide for financial solidarity. But this fund has a maximum of EUR 10 million annually at its disposal for displaced persons. That just about covers the cost of two tents and a hot-water bottle. Unless this fund grows substantially, I fear for Europe’s hospitality."@en1
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