Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-06-Speech-3-320"
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"en.20090506.38.3-320"2
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"Madam President, I have the honour of starting this joint debate on five very important reports on establishing a common European policy on asylum.
Madam President, when I first came here 22 years ago, I arrived at the European Economic Community with its 12 Member States. I am happy that what I am leaving now is a European Union with 27 members. It has been a true privilege to be in the very engine-house of European integration. It has been a unique, magnificent experience. Madam President, I also believe that one of the greatest successes has been to achieve the ‘never again’ which was at the root of the creation of European unification; I think that we can congratulate ourselves on this.
As I leave, I am very happy to have had the opportunity of having this experience and I do ask for your understanding, because I am now going to absent myself from this debate. I am returning to the Basque Country, where we are experiencing some historic events: after 30 years of a Basque nationalist government, we are going to have a socialist president of the Basque Country, Patxi López, and I would like to represent my political group tomorrow when he takes office.
Thank you very much, and goodbye for the last time.
Mine is limited to the amendment of the European Refugee Fund, the ERF, with a view to reallocating funds in order to create a European Asylum Support Office, which will have the institutional status of a regulatory agency. One of the agency’s responsibilities will be to promote and enhance practical cooperation between Member States in order to assist with the implementation of the common European asylum system.
Since some of the tasks currently assigned and funded under the ERF will now be carried out by the Office – this applies, for instance, to the promotion of good practices, the interpretation and translation services and support for the development and application of common statistics, with the aim of transparency and sound management of resources –some of the ERF funds need to be transferred to the Office.
Current rules stipulate that 10% of the Fund’s resources be allocated to these tasks. The Commission is proposing to us that this percentage be reduced to 4% and that the balance of the resources be transferred to the new Office. In this way, the Fund’s financial allocation for the 2008-2013 period would be reduced from EUR 628 million to EUR 614 million. We agree with the Commission that these amounts are sufficient for the first phase of the Fund up until 2013, which is when a revision is scheduled.
The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs has seen fit to entrust to me the welcome task of arguing for the advisability of creating this Office. The proposal has been approved unanimously by the two committees concerned: the Committee on Civil Liberties and the Committee on Budgets. Although Parliament, as we know, is reluctant to see new agencies created, as a budgetary authority its principal concern is the correct, reasonable management of the resources allocated, in this case to ensure practical cooperation between the Member States on asylum.
We all know that the acceptance rates for asylum applications vary considerably among the Member States, resulting in multiplemanagement difficulties for the host Member State. This is particularly true for states situated at the southern borders of the European Union, which regularly find themselves overwhelmed by large numbers of people suddenly arriving at their borders, in view of the fact that it is also necessary for them to identify, from among all these people, those that require protection.
Offering support in relation to resettlement and the internal, voluntary transfer of asylum seekers are the best evidence and expression of solidarity which the Member States ought to display. This is, and also should be, the main objective of creating this Office.
Madam President, that is the end of my speech on the subject we are dealing with at the moment and, like you, I would like to dedicate a few minutes, which are my last, to saying some words of farewell.
This is my last speech in this plenary session. Like you, Madam President, I would also like to thank all the Members of this House, my group colleagues, the Chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties and my fellow Members on the committee for the collaboration we have enjoyed over the past years. We have had debates, and we have not always been in agreement, but I believe that in the end we have always produced good work to bring to the plenary session of this Parliament."@en1
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