Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-568-000"
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"en.20110119.26.3-568-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Füle, we are responsible for all the men, women and children who seek refuge here because their lives are at risk. This responsibility is the result, on the one hand, of the moral values which Europe now represents and of the personal history of many Europeans, which is often forgotten in this context, and, on the other, of the legal guarantees given in international treaties and conventions.
If we take on responsibilities, then we must also be prepared to bear the accompanying burden. This means sharing it equally between the Member States. It definitely does not mean placing the responsibility on the shoulders of a few countries whose borders happen to coincide with the external borders of the EU or, and this is the reprehensible thing which I cannot condone, paying regimes such as that of Colonel Gaddafi to relieve us of the burden.
Let us have no misconceptions. If we can prevent people from undertaking a dangerous journey which may put their lives at risk, this is a good thing. However, Colonel Gaddafi and his regime are not concerned with saving lives or protecting people. They are only interested in hard financial facts. The European Union should beware of becoming the accomplice of a regime which shows a complete disregard for human rights.
I have visited the camps in Libya and seen what goes on there. We had the opportunity to speak with the people in charge. They are not concerned about human rights or about giving refuge to people. They complained that we had not given them any gunboats to allow them to defend their borders more effectively. We rightly have not supplied Colonel Gaddafi with any boats, because they could become dual-use items. We also have to take this into account. We must not betray our values simply because we want the economic benefits or a readmission agreement. I am also of the opinion that we should take a look at the negotiation mandate of all the Members of this House and not just a few. Secret diplomacy will not take us any further forward, particularly not following the experiences we in the European Union have had with the regime – and we cannot give it any other name – of Colonel Gaddafi. This is another point which we should not forget and I am calling on you to make sure of this. Mrs Gomes has mentioned all the criteria which must be met if we should ever reach the stage of an agreement."@en1
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