Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-26-Speech-3-028"
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"en.20070926.2.3-028"2
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"Mr President, in a world in which we are facing more and more regional conflicts, where there are huge disparities of wealth and where there is growing mobility, the control of migration flows will become increasingly important and will, at the same time, be difficult. Is the Union in a position to take up its responsibilities with a comprehensive package when it comes to migration, legal and illegal? We have been talking about this for some time now: the push factors that drive people to go, the pull factors that tempt people to leave, the importance of relief in the region, the often inhumane conditions in which people find themselves, the intended burden sharing between the Member States, the return of illegal migrants, the lack of opportunities for legal migration, the risk of brain drain not to mention the demographic changes facing us in the Union. All of these aspects have been addressed after a fashion or will be in the near future through directives, action plans and other instruments. In this respect, I would like to thank Commissioner Frattini. Last Thursday you set out your objectives once again with great enthusiasm at the Shaping Migration Strategies conference that I organised with colleagues.
Mr President-in-Office of the Council, I admire the statements of Minister Socrates. The countries of the European Union do indeed bear a historical responsibility towards those who are now travelling in the opposite direction. You as President-in-Office of the Council have demonstrated far-reaching ambitions, and yet reality shows us that the EU still has a long way to go when it comes to taking global responsibility. The migration debate is completely polarised in many Member States. No distinction is made between asylum seekers and economic migrants, the latter often being illegal. The debate is dominated by integration problems. Social security systems are said to be at stake and if we are not careful the average immigrant will be equated with a terrorist. Open, fair and transparent debate is far too often almost impossible. Unfortunately, this is echoed in the exasperatingly slow decision-making procedures in the Council, when the Council decides to go for harmonisation, but ends up with the lowest conceivable minimum standards. When concrete measures are decided upon, this is always on the basis of the lowest common denominator. Yes, I am an impatient person by nature, but I just thought I would mention that.
The reality is, however, that many Member States lack ambition. The lack of solidarity is shocking and I name Frontex, but there are many examples. When are the Member States going to show that they support a long-term view, that they are no longer driven by fear, that they will no longer allow themselves to be ruled by a critical article on the front page of a newspaper or by the next elections. We will not do it with fine conclusions of the Council alone. My question, therefore, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, is how are you going to make sure that this situation changes? Is the President-in-Office of the Council willing to give Parliament codecision powers with respect to the new directives on legal migration, such as the Blue Card, in anticipation of the new Treaty. That, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, would be the right signal."@en1
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