Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-06-Speech-4-185"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010906.9.4-185"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, we were negotiating the motion for a resolution on Afghan refugees when, at precisely that time, a Turkish ship approached Greek waters and threw 350 people into the sea. 215 of them have been picked up and more than a hundred are still being sought, and we do not know if they have drowned or if they have been able to survive. In fact, a former European Commissioner and Member of this Parliament, the current Greek Minister for the Merchant Navy, Christos Papoutzis, has highlighted the irresponsibility of the Turkish government in allowing a situation such as this to come about.
As the Member who has just spoken has said, we are undergoing a universal process of globalisation. The phenomenon of illegal immigration is not confined to one part of the world. The European Union, to be specific, is currently seeing the arrival of huge numbers of immigrants, and since Commissioner Lamy is here, and he has been so concerned with the problems of globalisation, I would like to say that I believe we are dealing with another aspect of the phenomenon of that globalisation. Just as capital and goods are being moved about freely, it seems that people also want to move about freely.
As Mrs González Álvarez has said, this is not an issue which is easily resolved, but I believe we could do something from here on many levels. On the most general level there would be a regulation of the international economy that includes population movements. And on more specific levels it would mean action by the institutions of the European Union to try to regulate this illegal immigration. This very week, this summer, on the island where I live, we have seen the bodies of illegal immigrants who have been flung from the boats on which they were arriving by Moroccan skippers who form genuine mafias.
The question should be put to the Commission of what measures the European Union is preparing for action within its own territory and what measures it is proposing on an international level. I believe that we must act in our own territory, and in the area of neighbouring countries, such as Turkey and Morocco, which are sending us illegal immigrants, and on an international level, by establishing regulations of a general nature.
I do not believe that responsibility on the issue of the Afghan refugees should fall exclusively to Australia. Responsibility also falls, for example, to the Indonesian government because it was from there that the original boat sailed, the crew was Indonesian, it all began in waters under Indonesian jurisdiction and it seems that nobody is remembering to state this type of responsibility at the moment.
I believe that international action is required in this case and I believe that this would be an excellent opportunity for the European Commission to implement an initiative, I repeat, not only in the closer area of our neighbours, but also on an international level, with a view to achieving the regulation of migratory flows and illegal immigration."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples