Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-24-Speech-3-095"

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"Mr President, human rights are an issue we Spanish Socialists are particularly sensitive to, since, at a time when for the majority of men and women in the countries of the European Union human rights formed the main foundation for their system of coexistence, Spain still had to go through decades of hard work and suffering before achieving acceptable and dignified human rights conditions in our society. Mrs Díez González, the rapporteur, is well aware of this. She understands the situation better than most, perhaps, given that, being a Basque and a democrat, she belongs to a category of Spanish and European people who, even now, have to fight against ultra-nationalist terrorism to consolidate the fundamental rights which are the European Union’s distinguishing marks. The purpose of my speech is mainly to express my support for Mrs Díez’s and Mr Van Hecke’s proposals and suggestions, adding just one or two observations. The first is that there should not be a restrictive interpretation of the many excellent initiatives they have suggested. For example, it should not be the case that very high standards in human rights should be a prerequisite and unavoidable condition for the European Union to be able to cooperate with third countries, but rather that to raise the level of respect for human rights in each country with which we cooperate should be the objective and result of such cooperation. My second observation comes as a response to criticisms we have heard with regard to the fact that, whilst we make many demands in the area of human rights in relation to third countries, particularly countries in the developing world, we are far more tolerant, on the other hand, when faced with frankly unsatisfactory situations in this area within EU countries themselves. This is not true. These reports refer specifically to third countries, but I take it for granted that the moral and political authority of our debate on cooperation in the world surrounding the European Union, with which we hope to be able to have a coherent relationship, will be much more credible and effective if we practice what we preach, and when what we require of others is endorsed by our own conduct, and by our self-imposed requirement to continue making progress, day after day, to improve the protection of human rights within the EU itself."@en1

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