Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-16-Speech-4-019"
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"en.20040916.1.4-019"2
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"Mr President, the Portuguese Government claims that the activities on board the 'Women on Waves' ship violate Portuguese law. I cannot judge if this is so, because I do not know exactly what activities were taking place on board that ship and, indeed, I know nothing of Portuguese law. I believe the case will be judged by a court that is competent to do so. However, I also believe that this was a provocative act by 'Women on Waves' and an attempt to undermine the principle of subsidiarity because, while in this House we may or may not agree with Portugal's stance on abortion, we must at all times recognise its right as a democratically elected government to make these decisions.
In this House on Tuesday, I listened carefully to one speaker after another talking about 'respecting the dignity of difference, respecting the right of Members to hold different opinions and showing tolerance to those opinions'. Indeed, the President, Mr Barroso, said: 'nobody has a monopoly on truth' – and that includes the Portuguese Government and 'Women on Waves'. We must all have respect and tolerance for different opinions, different laws and the right of any state in the EU to legislate and enforce that legislation within its borders. Surely, in this House, we must recognise and value that principle of subsidiarity.
It is my understanding that the EU and the Court of Justice have stated that laws relating to abortion are dealt with at national level only and that the EU has no competence in this area. So, while the Portuguese Government has no monopoly on truth, it has competence, which it considers was threatened.
Finally, a parallel: we in Ireland have introduced a ban on smoking in the workplace. This extends to Irish ships. If a Portuguese or Dutch citizen were to smoke on board an Irish ship in international waters, that would break Irish law. It is not the same situation, but this example helps to illustrate how complex and sensitive these situations are and how the principle of subsidiarity should apply at all times."@en1
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