Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-28-Speech-3-124"
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"en.20071128.16.3-124"2
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Mr President, I will very briefly make two points on the issues that have been raised most insistently: immigration policy and the regularisation of the situation of migrants in Spain.
I am in favour of a common immigration policy for the European Union covering border control, integration and a statute for its common regulation. We are far from this point but I can assure the two Members who raised this issue of one thing: when I became Prime Minister, I found that in my country there were 700 000 illegal migrant workers who were being exploited, who were not paying any taxes or social security contributions and who were working in the informal or illegal economy.
Our European values are rights, legality, transparency and the rule of law. I will therefore always try to ensure that, in my country, no one is working illegally, no one is being exploited, no one is being denied their rights and no one is failing to contribute to the burdens shouldered by a democratic country. Never.
I do not know how many of these 700 000 entered through France. I do not know. What I do know is that France and Spain, after much dialogue, because there were differences of opinion, now share a common philosophy and a common political approach. The same is true with the German Government. The experiences and circumstances of each country have been very different due to the lack of a common immigration policy. When there is no common immigration policy, we tend to blame our problems on France, or those of France are blamed on Spain, or those of Germany on Italy or those of Italy on Germany. This serves absolutely no purpose and is also harmful to European construction.
When we have a policy of shared external borders, with everyone controlling these together, and a policy of integration and common status, we will not be tempted to criticise a country which tackles the issue of 700 000 people working illegally so that they can become legal.
On climate change, I cannot stress this any more firmly, but I also do not want to look back to any particular government, because there have been governments in my country of all colours ... Without doubt there has been enormous economic growth in Spain. The only thing I know is that the government over which I preside is the only one to have stopped the growth of greenhouse gas emissions – which we did in 2006 – and the only one to have started to reduce these while increasing economic growth by 4%. Also, 2006 was the first year when the primary consumption of electricity in Spain was reduced. We are extremely determined in this area, as we have been in other areas of political action where we have not hesitated to pass far-reaching laws on rights or to take forceful decisions on foreign policy when we have been against certain actions. In the international arena, we will not fail to be firm or determined when tackling what I have described as a huge challenge and a huge opportunity. I can assure you that Spain is not the worst and certainly will not be so in the next few years because we are going to make a huge national effort to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to invest in alternative renewable energies and to pursue a policy of energy efficiency and saving.
I will end by reiterating my profound gratitude to the European Parliament. I have felt content here and also European, deeply European and, when I leave this common House of the European people, I will feel even more European. I should very much have liked to come here earlier."@en1
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