Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-04-Speech-1-057"
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"en.20020204.5.1-057"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank not only the Commission and you, Commissioner Vitorino, for the even-handed presentation on long-term residence by third-country nationals, but also Baroness Ludford, the rapporteur, for the close cooperation.
What is important to me is the amendments to this directive making it possible for the Member States to carry out security checks. Not only the host country, but the whole European Union, benefits from this, as Schengen makes it possible to cross the internal frontiers at any time, and so the other Member States must be able to rely on the first host country to receive third-country nationals in a responsible manner. Checks of this kind take account of the security needs of the host population, and also the needs of the third-country nationals living in our Member States. They are, on the one hand, protected against acts of terrorism, whilst, on the other hand, the state in question is making it clear that the third-country nationals living among us do not represent any danger to internal security. By this means we can give a clear rebuff to those forces that are endeavouring to make xenophobic capital out of acts of terrorism.
Something that is also important is the possibility of making integration a criterion for the grant of a residence permit. As a rule, third-country nationals with long-term rights of abode want to be naturalised, to become part of society, and to be able to make themselves understood. For communication leads to understanding, and those who understand each other grow closer together.
We must, then, put down markers. We must require language learning and promote it, for deficient knowledge of the language means a lack of communication and virtually inevitable exclusion from many areas of life. If our immigrants are not to remain set apart from society, we must promote language learning, or else the new citizen is on a foreordained path to low-paid work. To require it is primarily to give an opportunity and not to set up an obstacle; no doubt we all agree that we want to give a fair chance to the people who come to make their home among us."@en1
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