Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-195"
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"en.20040114.4.3-195"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner Vitorino, ladies and gentlemen, the report we are now discussing, on immigration, integration and employment, clearly delineates a multifaceted and topical set of problems that is not being addressed in the European Union or in any of the Member States.
The Treaty of Amsterdam and the Tampere European Council laid the foundations for immigration policy in the Union. Today, more than ever, greater priority must be attached to this issue, mainly due to the significant increase in the flow of immigrants to Europe in recent years, to the need to maintain Europe’s level of economic development given the growing demographic deficit, to the shrinking labour force and to enlargement and the changes to the dynamics of migration that this will bring.
By way of illustration, Italy will need an annual influx of more than 6500 immigrants per million inhabitants, according to the United Nations. My country, Portugal, currently receives 400 000 immigrants, which represents 8% of the working population and in the next 50 years could see a 17% fall in its total population. Immigrants, therefore, represent a resource for the labour market. This is not their only purpose, however. Their rights cannot be separated from fundamental human rights. Each Member State must consequently, in coordination with the Union, set limits for migratory flows that match the needs of their labour markets and also provide a supportive, humane and integrated response to receiving those who seek us out in order to improve their living conditions.
The Member States, therefore, face a common challenge; that of improving the management of migratory flows by improving integration policies towards new and established migrants, in an ongoing partnership with the countries of origin. Lastly, as regards the rights associated with citizenship, which must always be considered in this matter, we take the view that it would be premature and possibly going too far to grant immigrants the right to vote in European elections. Even in local elections, each Member State must retain the prerogative as to whether or not it gives its immigrants the right to vote."@en1
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