Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-07-Speech-2-314"
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"en.20050607.28.2-314"2
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".
Mr President, first of all I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs, with whom I have worked a great deal over the last few months to draft a comprehensive and consistent report on some very sensitive topics: my report relates to legal and illegal immigration and integration policies.
Since time immemorial, humans have emigrated to escape poverty or persecution, in search of happiness, in pursuit of a better future. Today, with globalisation and the proliferation of transport options, migratory flows have become denser and more complex. They are the result of a new aspiration for men and women throughout the world, to go to work in other countries, to benefit from other experiences. They are also the result of inequalities that are present across the world, the result of poverty, the curse of too many regions in the world. In the context of national elections, in some Member States, immigration is a recurring theme in electoral campaigns. Some countries decide to seal their borders and adopt tough measures, while others regularise thousands of illegal immigrants.
The European Union seems to be divided in relation to the issue of immigration. It is true that each Member State has the right to decide how many immigrants it intends to accept, but Europe no longer has internal borders. As a consequence, any national measure has significant direct repercussions on the other Member States. It is therefore now essential for the Member States to organise themselves at European level. The solution to many of the problems they face must be both European and national. Certain political parties systematically make use of election periods to draw prejudicial parallels between insecurity, terrorism and immigration, fostering in our fellow citizens a fear of immigrants and foreigners. This is, of course, unacceptable.
It is vital, firstly, to provide objective, transparent and regular information on immigration policy and, secondly, to launch information campaigns aimed at the population, in order to change people’s perceptions of immigrants as criminals. In my report, I wanted to take a responsible, balanced, comprehensive approach. Responsible, because we need to deal with these subjects with a greater sense of responsibility: we must not forget that we are dealing with men and women, not with goods! I also wanted to take a balanced approach: the Member States must not base their policies either entirely on security considerations or entirely on a spirit of liberalism. We therefore need to transcend national differences and take the heat out of the debate in order to develop a humane and effective European immigration policy. Finally, I wanted a comprehensive approach to increase consistency and effectiveness.
I would like to deal with a number of aspects that I have discussed in my report. Firstly, the need for an active policy of co-development to combat the basic causes of immigration. Secondly, combating illegal immigration by means of stricter controls at our external borders, dismantling human trafficking networks, harsher penalties, very harsh, for businesses that use clandestine workers. Thirdly, legal immigration: if the EU needs to open its borders to legal immigrants in response to the predicted decline in the active population, it must do so in an organised, concerted way. Finally, policy on the integration of immigrants: admission and integration policies are inseparable. The Member States must implement more proactive policies. For their part, immigrants must understand and respect the fundamental values of the host country: learning the language, civic education courses and better integration into the labour market are some of the important elements of this.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think that immigration is a good thing for the country of origin, for the host country and for the immigrants themselves when it is controlled and co-managed. That is the principle of win-win immigration, controlled and managed jointly. Neither welcoming all comers nor setting as an objective the myth of zero immigration is a realistic or particularly responsible position. Each State must accept immigrants depending on its integration capability, its own interests and those of the country of origin.
The subject of immigration is too sensitive, sometimes too tragic, to continue to make it the subject of political sparring matches. One vision must prevail when we discuss it: where are people in all this? Of course, we have to be realistic, but we must also take into consideration the undeniable human brotherhood and the solidarity that it entails. Ladies and gentlemen, Parliament must give a strong and unified signal to the Council and to the citizens of Europe so that rapid progress can be made in immigration and integration policies. I therefore hope that this report will be adopted tomorrow by a large majority."@en1
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