Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-181"
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"en.20040114.4.3-181"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as a follow-up to the conclusions of the Tampere European Council of October 1999, the Commission has drawn up various proposals to control migratory flows and to combat illegal immigration. The fact is, however, that the image of Fortress Europe that the European Union has generated, as a result of its profoundly restrictive immigration policies, stands in stark contrast to the real economic need for immigrant labour.
This is why this Commission proposal presents immigration as part of the solution to the ageing of Europe’s population and to the decline in its active population. I deplore the fact that the Commission attaches greater importance to the economic and demographic aspects that lead to immigration than to the social and human aspects or to improving the living and working conditions of immigrants in the various countries of the European Union.
The fight against illegal immigration and the trafficking of human beings cannot result in a repressive policy that targets illegal immigrants. It must instead target the traffickers and employers who exploit this situation. This is why we have presented a set of what we believe to be important proposals to improve the Moraes report, in the hope that they will be adopted. These include opposing the content of the Council directive on family reunification, which contravenes the fundamental right to live in a family and contains an unacceptable proposal to subject all immigrant children of at least two years of age to a test, before deciding whether they can join their parents. I would also highlight our appeal to Member States to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, adopted by United Nations General Assembly Resolution No 45158 of 18 December 1990. In addition, however, the overwhelming majority of immigrant workers who do not have residence permits but who do pay taxes and social security contributions in their host country should be automatically legalised. We also hope that account is taken of the fact that the overwhelming majority of immigrants are citizens of third countries who emigrate to European Union countries to flee situations of extreme poverty in their country of origin and who must, therefore, be treated as victims and not as potential criminals. Lastly, I am sorry that the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats seeks to use the Moraes report to call into question established political rights, specifically the right of immigrant workers to vote in local elections to the European Parliament. Immigrants must not be viewed as disposable workers who can be thrown away after use. Immigrants, and women in particular, should be deemed worthy of reception conditions that respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and equal economic, social and cultural rights."@en1
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