Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-03-Speech-2-456"
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"en.20090203.23.2-456"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, today is a very happy occasion and the credit for it, with my thanks, goes in particular to Mr Tabajdi, Chairman of the Intergroup and champion of minorities.
Today I am using the Italian language, which is the language of the State and not my mother tongue. I do this for a specific reason: a large number of ethnic minorities from various countries and ethnic groups live in Italy. Today, I want to use this demonstration – as well as the demonstration that an ethnic minority is not an ethnic minority merely for itself but has to experience solidarity – to give to these minorities a voice here in this House. I also want to tell the Italian minorities who live abroad that they would otherwise not have this possibility.
Mr Barrot spoke today about non-discrimination. I believe that nondiscrimination is not enough, because we must achieve equal rights and equal rights will come only when we have minority situations and give them considerable help in reaching a level equal to that of the majority. For this reason, we need positive discrimination in certain situations. This, I believe, is a new idea, an idea that needs to be pursued.
The European Union has competencies. By making use of Articles 21 and 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 2 of the Treaty of Lisbon – let us hope that these enter into force as soon as possible – together with the Copenhagen criteria, and a small amount of flexibility and legislative imagination, we would be able to achieve a great many things. I want to mention, in particular, Article 2 of the Treaty of Lisbon on the protection of the rights of individuals – and here, particular thanks go to the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Frattini, who made a decisive contribution to its inclusion.
We hope for protection of rights for groups: that is our goal. Since there are 168 minority groups in the European Union and about 330 on the continent of Europe, 100 million of our fellow citizens on this continent are experiencing this situation. We in South Tyrol have reached a level that can obviously be improved on, but which is very, very good nonetheless. When I hear from representatives in this House or Members from majority populations that their minorities are well treated, I am somewhat mistrustful. I would be happier if the representatives of these minorities said that they were well treated.
We in the European Union need to understand that minorities represent added value, a bridge between cultures, between peoples and countries. We must work towards unity in cultural diversity."@en1
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