Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-13-Speech-2-352"
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"en.20060613.32.2-352"2
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".
Mr President, I am very pleased that we are discussing the excellent report by Mrs Ždanoka tonight, but I should like to remind you that tomorrow, unfortunately, we will be discussing a resolution on rampant racism and homophobic violence in Europe. Between the Ždanoka report and tomorrow’s resolution, we become painfully aware that there is still a lot to be achieved. Therefore I should like to make a proposal to the Commissioner. We have been talking a lot about anti-discrimination measures – and there are lots of very concrete proposals in the Ždanoka report.
When I was preparing my remarks tonight I thought back to March 2000, when the political leaders of Europe launched a very ambitious strategy to make Europe the strongest sustainable knowledge-based economy in the world. They were very ambitious. Perhaps they over-reached a little bit, but ambition is a good thing. Why can we not be equally ambitious in the fight against discrimination and in the promotion of fundamental rights and equality in the European Union? Those are, after all, our shared values. What we need here is not just one measure and then another, but a comprehensive and, most of all, very ambitious strategy. We need a roadmap and we need to put fundamental rights and equality at the heart of European policies.
I would like to remind you that about a year and a half ago this House gave its confidence to President Barroso and his Commission, because he promised us that fundamental rights and the fight against discrimination would be top priority; it would be the cornerstone of the European Commission’s policies.
I know that the Commissioner is personally very committed to that, but I have to say that, on the whole, the track record of the European Union in the last couple of years has not been very impressive. I know that the biggest stumbling-block is the Member States. The speed with which they adopt measures, security measures, for example, on data retention or PNR data, is remarkable. They manage to take decisions within three or four months. But when it comes to the framework decision against racism and xenophobia, they have still not reached agreement after five years! That is an absolute disgrace.
I call on the Commission to form an alliance with the European Parliament and come forward with a roadmap for fundamental rights and equality, based on the proposals in the Ždanoka report. We urgently need concrete measures. We need legislation. It is all very well to have awareness campaigns, but people who are discriminated against need a legal tool so that they can go to court. We need this framework decision. We need a mechanism to monitor the fundamental rights situation in the Member State.
All of that we would qualify as better lawmaking. That is also in Mrs Ždanoka’s report. Better lawmaking is not just about repealing legislative proposals in the internal market policies; it is also about proposing things that are good for the citizen – something that Parliament has been calling for consistently. The Charter of Fundamental Rights needs to become legally binding if it is to have any meaning.
With regard to the European Year of Equal Opportunities, it is wonderful that we pay lip service to equal opportunities but, frankly, the budget allocated for the year is pathetic. If that is any indication of the importance that the Member States give to equal opportunities, we still have a long way to go. I am counting on the Commission’s cooperation with the European Parliament."@en1
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