Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-10-Speech-2-532-000"
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"en.20110510.63.2-532-000"2
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"Madam President, I would also like to thank you very much for this debate and the contributions I had from the honourable Members of this House.
The Hungarian Presidency will withstand every effort to the contrary. But this does not mean, and here I agree with Commissioner Malmström, that the system should not be perfected. For months, for years we have been aware that the system should be adjusted to the challenges of 2011, and this can indeed be done. Nobody wants the system that we have established together, with many years of work, to fall into pieces.
So, as regards restoring internal borders, we think that it can be done only in an exceptional situation, in case of an extraordinary challenge, for a defined period and by the decision of the Community. I have said this in my introduction, Mrs Malmström and Mr Barroso have said this as well. I repeat once again that this is our starting point.
What are the issues in which we can still be partners, and which are the ones in which we cannot be partners? We would like to distinguish refugees who are genuine asylum seekers under international law. We must help them so that we can be loyal to ourselves and to our common values.
At the same time we also have to combat illegal migration. I do not need to mention that the protection of the common borders, our external borders, is a common issue. FRONTEX has to be strengthened, and the means necessary for this must be provided. This is what we are working on with your cooperation, hoping that we can make a decision as soon as possible.
The issue of Schengen does not only mean what the Commission communication now contains; the expansion of the Schengen zone is on the agenda. The Hungarian Presidency clearly separates these two issues. Nobody should want to ignore the two countries which have put enormous work, energy and money into preparing properly and meeting the rigorous requirements that accession to the Schengen zone involves, and destroy it by saying that the atmosphere is not right at the moment.
We already acknowledged in February during the Hungarian Presidency that as far as the technical standards were concerned, Romania was ready, while Bulgaria still had some homework to do. I am happy to announce that Sch-eval, the Schengen Evaluation Group has now found that Bulgaria has done that work.
I hope that we can state in the Council before the Hungarian Presidency comes to an end that technical preparation has been completed. The two countries fulfil the technical criteria of Schengen. The political decision will have to be made when the Member States are ready for it. We have had ongoing consultations with all parties concerned, and are trying to find a solution that is acceptable for all stakeholders, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Member States concerned about the Schengen mechanism.
And finally, a comment: I think it was Mr Weber of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) who said that we had to be very careful about the policy we implement concerning migrants, European problems and labour supply. I deeply agree with that. We should not forget that we have our own unemployed, but we should equally remember that we are an aging society in Europe and we will have labour supply problems as well.
That is why the Hungarian Presidency has been committed to put demographic issues on the agenda, to help each other see which Member States have been very successful in the field of demographic policy, in the field of family policy. We would like to improve the situation of families in the European Union. We would like more children to be born in Europe, because every Member State promotes this with their own means, and this is the solution for the problem of an aging society, and it would be good if we did not have to solve it through migration.
First let me start with our clarification concerning the asylum package, as I received very concrete questions on that. As to the specific proposals on the table, the Council welcomes the start of the trilogues between the Parliament and the Council concerning the Qualification Directive. As to the Dublin Regulation and the Eurodac Regulation, important progress has been made at technical level.
Two main issues, however, remain outstanding which are inextricably linked to the political discussions. The first is the suspension of transfers under the Dublin Regulation and the second is access for law enforcement under the Eurodac Regulation. Many delegations in Council are of the opinion that suspending Dublin transfers to Member States that are subject to practical pressures would create a poor precedent and would undermine the Dublin Regulation. A large number of delegations have also expressed a strong wish to give law enforcement agencies access to the Eurodac database. Given these views in Council and considering our shared commitment to establishing a common European asylum system, a constructive debate is needed between all the institutions involved: the Council, Parliament and the Commission.
Finally, the Council awaits with interest the revised proposals of the Commission concerning the procedural directives and the Reception Conditions Directive, which are expected, if I am not mistaken, in early June. So, Ms Weber, since you suggested, with reference to the work of the Council, that we are questioning and undermining codecision and are trying to isolate Parliament, I hope that my clarification was enough for you. Of course we are very pleased to share all the information with you and we are very committed to making progress on these dossiers, which are, I think, of vital importance for all of us.
Let me continue in my mother tongue for some horizontal general concluding remarks.
As emphasised in my introduction, the great debate in the Council is yet to come. The proposal of the Commission was published six days ago. We convened a special meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council for 12 May, where we will be able to have an orientation debate. We hope that this work and the working group debate can make the situation easier for the heads of states and heads of governments, and they will be able to take the most important political decisions in the European Council in June.
So at this moment I can share with you the opinion of the Hungarian Presidency. And let me reiterate, not for the first time in this House, that our basic philosophy is a strong Europe; a strong Europe that places people at the centre of its thinking.
This is our basic principle; it determines every policy we make and each step we take. It is on this basis that I can tell you what our starting point will be in this politically highly sensitive issue. We will not be partners with anyone attempting to dismantle the Schengen system and free movement.
The overwhelming majority of the comments made in this House have argued for the preservation of this common acquis. Let me quote the honourable Italian Member Mr Iacolino, who called it ‘patrimonia della civilta europea,’ ‘our common European heritage’, or Mrs Kinga Gál, who said that free movement is the most tangible result of the unity of the EU."@en1
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