Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-404"
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"en.20080312.26.3-404"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, my colleague Commissioner Špidla is extremely happy that the European Parliament has decided to examine the situation of women in prison and its impact on social and family life, and therefore wishes to congratulate the rapporteur, Mrs Panayotopoulos, on her excellent report.
Even though women account for only a small percentage, around 5%, of Europe's prison population, it is clear that their stay in prison seriously affects the entire family. Moreover, a relatively high percentage of women in prison are mothers.
The Commission promotes policies to combat the exclusion of vulnerable groups, and this therefore includes, in particular, people in custody. It must be stressed, however, that social inclusion is mainly a matter for the Member States. The Commission’s role in terms of social inclusion is basically to help the Member States in their fight against social exclusion, within the context of the open method of coordination and other more specific courses of action. Nevertheless, the new Lisbon Treaty – and this is an interesting point – provides for new initiatives in connection with justice, freedom and security. Within this specific area, of increasing importance, the codecision procedure will apply to many more fields and this will obviously broaden the EP’s power to examine some of the proposals set out in your report. Mrs Panayotopoulos’s report adopts a balanced approach. It fully respects the principle of subsidiarity and acknowledges the Commission's support role, and we completely agree with your methodological approach. We are aware that in order to tackle the challenges faced by imprisoned women, the Member States and the Commission must focus on living conditions in prisons, the essential maintenance of family ties and social relations and, of course, the importance of social and professional reintegration. This approach matches the Commission’s social inclusion strategy, which covers three broad areas: encouraging access to basic services and different possibilities and opportunities, monitoring respect for legislation in the fight against discrimination, and, if necessary, drawing up targeted approaches to meet the specific needs of the various groups.
In the spring of 2006 the Commission organised a public consultation on the need to take other measures at EU level to encourage active inclusion of those farthest removed from the job markets. The results were presented in a communication in October 2007, which also launched the second phase of the consultation. The social partners were asked for their opinion on the possibility of enhancing the open method of coordination by adopting common principles – particularly in relation to income support, active job market policies and access to quality services – on the substance of the common principles and, finally, on to how to back up implementation of these common principles with control and evaluation at EU level. The consultation was completed on 28 February 2008 and the Commission will now examine the proposals made by the social partners and other interested parties.
Please now allow me to make a few brief comments on the report. It discusses the reintegration of imprisoned women into society and the job market. We share the view that targeted implementing measures should be combined with safety nets adapted to prevent social exclusion. Reintegration of imprisoned persons ought to begin in the prison environment in cooperation with the specialist social services.
We are well aware that providing acceptable and reasonable living conditions substantially increases the chances of reintegration in society. The authorities, including the prison authorities, must be encouraged to provide quality vocational training for people in prison. Cooperation between prisons and firms specialising in jobs for prisoners must evidently be encouraged as part of the reintegration process.
Here we wish to stress the role of the European Social Fund in encouraging the inclusion and integration of female and male prisoners in the job market and society in general. The Fund, as I think you are aware, cofinances activities geared towards educational and vocational programmes for prisoners, while initiatives directly concerned with improving living conditions for prisoners, such as the construction of new buildings and installation of new facilities may be covered by other Structural Funds.
I have duly noted the EP's request to the Commission and Council to adopt a framework decision on minimum standards for the protection of the rights of prisoners and to create a European prison charter. I feel I must again remind the House that a number of elements in the report are the exclusive competence of the Member States although, as we have mentioned, the Lisbon Treaty will apply the codecision procedure to many areas in connection with justice, freedom and security, and here there is a real possibility of broadening the scope of the EP’s role and improving the situation and treatment of this extremely serious matter."@en1
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