Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-12-Speech-3-013"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020612.1.3-013"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, firstly, I wish to pick up on a couple of points in the joint resolution, which my group will not be supporting, points which seem to be missing from the speeches we have heard this morning: for example, the welcome given to the International Criminal Court while regretting the position of the United States in seeking to protect its own citizens from it. As we have heard today, justice should be universal and not dependent on nationality.
The European Parliament has also taken the view in the resolution that the Union should be taking a strong, leading role at the Johannesburg Summit, as it did on the Kyoto Protocol. However, to do that it needs a commitment to sustainability in all aspects of its work, and that includes integration of social and environmental factors into its economic and trade policies. We have to remember that without a healthy environment we have no sound foundation for our economies. So we trust that will be remembered, as promised by Commission President Prodi, in the better governance arrangements and we are looking forward to the policy proofing and the impact on the social and environmental dimensions he mentioned today.
To be credible at that sustainability summit, we also need to demonstrate that we understand the importance of development and its link to certain aspects of immigration policy. I was pleased to hear the Spanish minister referring to issues about deep poverty. That is in marked contrast to what we have been hearing from the Spanish Prime Minister over the last few weeks.
The European Union wants a mobile, flexible workforce. It is a priority in our employment policy, so why do we insist on making legal immigration for all skilled sectors virtually impossible? What we have been hearing over the last few weeks and today sounds to us simply like moving the walls of fortress Europe and looking for stronger building materials, including using the idea of economic clout – such as development aid – in our attempts to have other countries police their borders more effectively to stop people leaving. The countries of eastern and central Europe are joining the Union to escape that sort of policy.
We are also concerned at some of the proposed reforms to the Council's inner workings – the Development Council, for example, is to be absorbed into a wider grouping. But we welcome the reassurance we have heard today that the reforms will not touch matters for the IGC and the Convention, because it is essential that the Council does not become the legislature and executive and break the current balance between the institutions.
We welcome the commitment to greater transparency and trust that this will not just be for the Council but for the public as well."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples