Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-13-Speech-2-252"
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"en.20071113.30.2-252"2
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Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, the first Euromed Ministerial Conference on Migration will be held in Santa Eulália, in the Algarve, Portugal, between 18 and 19 November. Said like this, it seems the most banal of statements, but it is not. We have managed to organise this high-level ministerial conference after this was defined as a priority by our Heads of State and Government in November 2005. That was nearly two years ago, on the occasion of the 10
anniversary of the Barcelona Process Summit, when the growing importance of migration issues within our Euro-Mediterranean Partnership was recognised. Subsequently, as some of you will certainly remember, we had occasion in Rabat, Tripoli to reaffirm our common political agenda.
We did this realistically and lucidly, in the Council’s opinion. There are now, on both sides of the Mediterranean region, sizeable migrant communities which play a very important role in our societies. We have a duty to give new impetus to the Partnership which can take advantage of the existence of these vigorous communities. The complexity and significance of migration issues mean that everyone needs to tackle these, both countries of origin and countries of transit and destination. At this first conference in the Algarve, the Council feels that the debate should be focused on the most pressing issues and only on these, with a step-by-step approach to these issues.
The main items on the agenda will be the priority areas agreed at the Ministerial Meeting in Tampere, namely immigration and development, legal migration and the fight against illegal migration. These areas cover such important subjects as the framework for migrants’ remittances, the new challenge of micro-credit, the opportunities that we are creating in the European Union and on both sides of the Mediterranean for legal migration, the essential issue of document security raised earlier in another respect by Vice-President Frattini – security of travel documents is crucial for allowing migratory flows to develop under secure conditions – and the very important issue of return conditions, where applicable.
I believe that the preparatory work carried out in recent weeks can result in a positive conclusion which bodes well for the debate to be held in the Algarve. There is a clear determination on both sides to find positive solutions and concrete measures and to agree and implement these measures. In this respect, the Council informs the European Parliament of its conviction that the conference will reach agreement on concrete measures that will enable us to take our Partnership forward.
We hope that these efforts will result in a final statement which, due to the careful process of preparation, will receive ministerial approval in the Algarve. This statement must unequivocally define the main priorities and will also determine the specific projects to be implemented in the short term. We therefore consider that this initiative is developing in a positive framework and will prove to be inspiring and a significant moment in our Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This is the Council’s duty and also the result that we want, and it is fully within our reach."@en1
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