Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-05-Speech-3-335"
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"en.20060705.22.3-335"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, thousands of immigrants are losing their lives trying to reach our European continent. Ceuta, Melilla, the Canaries, Lampedusa and Malta have become tragic symbols in the task of managing migratory flows, particularly from the South of the world. Since Monday, nearly 1 000 men have attempted to land and have landed in the Canaries. The European Union must not push the problem back outside its borders.
A successful integration policy therefore hinges on a person’s finding a job. This, in turn, hinges on his or her ability to speak the language of the host country. Immigrants also need to have access to civic education classes and to programmes on equality between men and women in order to become better acquainted with the values of the host country.
The reports presented this evening deal with the immigration and integration policies within the European Union. The idea of this comprehensive debate is particularly interesting, because it is difficult to dissociate the two issues. Immigration and the integration of immigrants are subjects that rarely leave people indifferent. These very sensitive issues are at the centre of countless questions and debates that mobilise governments, citizens and elected representatives.
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the management of migratory flows will take place at European level, because, together, we must build a safer, more prosperous and fair Europe.
The countries of Africa cannot resolve the problem of migratory pressure on their own. Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I recently led a delegation of MEPs in the Canaries. It is true that the European Union is proposing aid and protection at the borders, but there are still men and women thronging the beaches. The meeting on migration, which will be held next week in Rabat, is a first, very encouraging step. Finally, representatives from the countries of Africa and Europe are going to get together around a table in order to find some solutions.
The codevelopment policy that Europe is due to put in place tomorrow must become more effective, more intelligent and more secure, so as to assure us that the funds allocated will benefit the people, and them alone. If we are effective in our efforts to help the people of Africa to remain in their own countries by enabling them to live decent lives, then we will not have to count the dead bodies on the beaches of Italy, Malta or Spain.
In an area without internal borders, such as our Schengen area, coordination and information-sharing among the various national immigration policies of the 25 Member States are crucial. The first important stage in achieving that aim is to improve the exchange of information among the Member States.
My report concerns the establishment of a mutual information procedure in the areas of asylum and immigration. Each Member State must communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission the national measures that it plans to take. The main points developed are as follows: all of the Member States will have to supply information concerning their present national legislative state of play. This information will therefore constitute an initial database that will help us to become acquainted with the various policies currently in force and to understand what changes subsequently need to be made.
My second point relates to the political dimension. The new procedure will act as a permanent link between national administrations. It is important to make progress and to add a political dimension to this administrative level. This will be the aim of this new tool.
The final point that I want to mention relates to public accessibility. The Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance has tabled some amendments aimed at opening up the network to the public. I have always been in favour of more transparency in decision-making procedures, but not in this particular case. I shall explain what I mean by this: all of the legislative texts that have already been adopted at national level are naturally made public. Nevertheless, political discussions on the future measures and draft laws under way must remain confidential. Otherwise, governments will refuse to submit their current projects to us and to discuss them with us, and we will never have this information.
In concluding the first part of our joint debate, I should like to thank all of the shadow rapporteurs with whom I have worked effectively over the last few months. I hope that, together, we will demonstrate our will, during tomorrow’s vote, to strive towards greater cooperation among the Member States at EU level.
As regards the integration of immigrants, I should like to congratulate our fellow Member, Mr Lambrinidis, on his work and his will - and I stress, his will - to find compromises between all of the political groups. Integration policy represents a mutual commitment on the part of host countries and of legally resident nationals of third countries. This commitment comprises rights and obligations for both parties. Immigration cannot be promoted if we cannot give the immigrants a humane reception in relation to work, accommodation and children’s schooling."@en1
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