Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-04-08-Speech-2-153"
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"en.20030408.4.2-153"2
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".
Mr President, in the European Union there are 12 million legal immigrants from third countries. Entry and residence for reasons of family reunification is, in almost all the Member States of the Union, the main route for legal immigration by nationals of third countries.
Parents with difficulties in the country of origin have been included if they do not have any other family support. And adult children with health problems have also been included. The time limit for communicating the decision made is reduced from 9 to 6 months and from 12 to 9 months in exceptional cases.
With regard to the conditions for exercising the right to family reunification, we maintain the reasons of public order, security and public health when it comes to granting that right. It will not be possible to deny renewal of the permit because of illnesses subsequent to the issuing of that permit. And refugees are exempted from the requirement that they must prove they are in a position to maintain their families.
I have withdrawn all the amendments relating to subsidiary protection in exchange for a commitment from the Commission to present a directive to harmonise this issue in the European Union as soon as possible.
With regard to the entry and residence of family members, we propose bringing the right to access to education, employment and professional training into line with that of members of the family of the person in question and not to that of the citizens of the Union. This will prevent differing treatment within a single family.
In the event of widowhood, divorce, separation or death an autonomous residence permit may be obtained if the person in question has been resident for at least one year.
In general, there are certain aspects which I believe to be positive, such as: the exemption of refugees from the requirement that they must demonstrate that they are in a position to maintain their families, the adoption of flexible criteria with regard to refugees in relation to proof of kinship and authorisation of alternative proof in the event that documentary proof is not a possibility; furthermore, family members are generally granted the same residence rights as the head of the family, family members are granted the same rights in terms of access to education, self-employed and salaried work and to family guidance and the special needs of unaccompanied minors are recognised.
I must say, however, that the political agreement reached on 28 February is far from what this Parliament proposed in certain areas, because it reduces its scope and it is required that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining the right to long-term residence.
Finally, I would repeat that I have decided to withdraw all the amendments which included people receiving subsidiary protection in the scope in exchange for a commitment from the Council to approve the directive presented by the Commission on 12 September 2001, on the minimum rules on the requirements and status available to third-country citizens and stateless persons in order to be refugees or beneficiaries or other types of international protection, which would include the right to family reunification.
For these reasons and for the reasons that have been fully explained previously in the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home affairs, I would ask this House to support this report.
This family immigration consists of both family reunification in the strict sense – the reunification of family members with a third-country national who is already resident – and the reunification of a family when the family ties are established after the entry of the third-country national.
Persons authorised to enter as family members, as a percentage of all immigrants, varies from 40 to 50%, and this figure is even higher in certain Member States of the Union such as France or the United Kingdom.
While recognising the importance of this aspect of legal immigration in quantitative terms, it is also important to stress the fundamental role played by family reunification as a necessary means for achieving the integration of third-country nationals legally residing in the European Union.
The presence of family members provides these people with greater stability and greater integration, by allowing them to lead a normalised family life. The majority of family members admitted on the basis of the right to family reunification have a great advantage, compared to other types of immigrant, since they already maintain very close links with a person – the person who is being reunified with their family – who is already established in the receiving country, which makes it far easier for them to integrate.
Legislation on family reunification must be governed by two principles, which must also be applied in all legislation on immigration. These principles, which have been repeated on other occasions, are equality and security.
I will not go back over the whole history of this proposed directive we are discussing today, since I assume you are aware of it, but I must refer to the first political agreement on legal immigration which was reached at the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 28 February, on the Council Directive on the right to family reunification. This agreement is in many respects far from what this Parliament is proposing.
I am aware of the difficulties involved in reaching agreements on such sensitive issues as immigration issues, which are approached and regulating in very different specific ways in the various Member States.
The proposal as presented today for the approval of this Parliament, includes as members of the family the partner of the person in question, as well as the unmarried partner recognised in the Member State, regardless of the sex; the minor children of the person in question and of their partner, including adopted children; the minor children, also including adopted children of the person in question and their partner when one of them has the right to custody and is caring for them; but we have not accepted the exception relating to children of over 12 years old according to which the Member State could examine whether or not they comply with integration criteria before authorising their entry and residence in accordance with the directive."@en1
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