Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-22-Speech-1-116"
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"en.20030922.7.1-116"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the report by Mr Schmidt states, in a concise and precise manner, most of the options that we seek to advocate in this House. As a democrat among the Members who asked for the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be included, as it stands, in the draft Constitution, I cannot agree with his conclusions.
In addition to the facts and figures expressed very well by my fellow Members, I will make three points.
The Geneva Convention was drawn up in the middle of the cold war, at a time when the world was one of extremes. The European Union has become a new growth area which, in the majority of States of the world, embodies a hope, a goal to achieve to escape poverty, war and political instability. The tragic escalation of social, religious and ethical tensions and civil wars, cause States to break-up and individuals to despair. Their presence, their exodus towards our countries reminds Europe that poverty and crises are rife on its doorstep. Europe has a specific role to play and the answer is not ‘Fortress Europe’. Yes, we do need a legal framework. Yes, we do need to be very mindful of the decisions we make. I do not believe, however, that a list of safe states is either useful or desirable. Simply by having a list we are contravening Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or country of origin. Not considering a claimant’s request for asylum on the basis of a list of ‘safe’ countries really amounts to denying a refugee his or her most fundamental right, the right to be a fully accepted individual with inalienable rights.
I will conclude by saying that there is an urgent need for a European directive in the field of asylum procedure and above all for a concerted Community policy. Without this fundamental legal basis our actions will not allow us to be coherent."@en1
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