Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-20-Speech-2-338"
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"en.20080520.28.2-338"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Parliament is not the right place for polemics against any one government; it is a place where we discuss, examine and look for shared solutions to issues that concern and worry European citizens, and what is happening in Italy concerns many Europeans.
The incidents vary enormously in terms of importance and gravity: from attacks on the Roma, the situation of degradation and poverty of entire areas controlled by criminal gangs, where Italians and migrants fight over nothing, to the tragic waste crisis and finally the incredible statements made recently by Italy’s beautiful new equal opportunities minister, bordering on homophobia.
Therefore, without sterile polemic, let us stick to the facts and look at what we can do to help and improve the situation, rather than make it worse. What we must not do is deny the facts. Why are we here discussing the Roma situation in Europe and Italy? It is because the Roma are the most discriminated against minority in Europe, and Parliament has been dealing with this issue for years. We are not do-gooders, but there have been episodes of extreme violence, intolerance and racism, which must be called by their real name if we want to start putting them to rights.
As I said, we are not do-gooders. At the heart of the solution that we are all searching for is legality: by this I mean respect for all of the rules. This means rules that prevent people from stealing and squatting on public property, forcing children to beg or women into slavery, but also those that prohibit discrimination and persecution of the poor, and the decades-old repression of people who no longer know what nationality they are and are travellers not through choice, but because after fleeing so many times, the only thing that remains is life on the road. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the reality for many Roma in Italy and Europe.
To conclude, I would like to thank Commissioner Špidla for his contribution, because he took a courageous stand and clarified some of the points that we have always maintained with respect to Directive 2004/38/EC and how this has been misinterpreted in places by the Italian government. I hope that his work to introduce clarity can continue, with our support."@en1
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