Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-14-Speech-1-008-000"
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"en.20111114.3.1-008-000"2
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"I wish to give you some current information. Last week, there was another earthquake in Turkey. There were further deaths, almost 700 people, and increased material losses in the region, which had already suffered in an earthquake three weeks ago. Our thoughts are with our Turkish friends. Last week’s floods in Italy and southern France also caused fatalities and considerable material damage. We appreciate the efforts of the emergency services and local authorities, which are helping the people affected by these disasters. We are deeply saddened and feel great sympathy for the families which fell victim to these disasters and for missing persons, and also sympathise with those who have lost all their belongings and are homeless.
Finally, there is the sad news of the death of Willy De Clercq. This European and Belgian statesman has left us. For a quarter of a century, he was a Member of the European Parliament and presided over the Group of Liberals and one of Parliament’s committees. He also held the offices of Commissioner and Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium. On behalf of the European Parliament, I offer our sincere condolences to Willy De Clercq’s family. I would ask you to rise and observe a minute’s silence in memory of our colleague.
The second brief piece of information I wish to impart is that, at the end of October, I visited Libya. I met the President, ministers and representatives of civil society. We discussed the building of democracy and a market economy. They are very much relying on Europe’s help, be it in teaching them democratic principles, building independent democratic institutions, or ensuring the functioning of structures within those institutions. They are very open to collaboration; they cannot, of course, be forced to do anything, but they are very willing to talk about it.
I have also been in Tunisia, where I met the Prime Minister, the Head of the Central Bank and the leaders of the four political parties which won the elections, and therefore those who were first on the list. There, too, there is complete openness to the European Union. I was told that ‘We have no other choice. Our choice is the European Union’. I talked with them about creating a democratic state based on the rule of law and full access by all people, including women, to all possible public activities and to the exploitation of all opportunities in an open society. All four of the parties that won the elections are ready to create a democratic Tunisia on these lines and also to cooperate with Europeans.
I have also spent almost a week in the Western Balkans: in Croatia, which is entering the EU, and also in Serbia, which recently introduced far-reaching reforms and where the main problem is the normalisation of relations with Kosovo. I was also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the internal stalemate is coming to an end. I also visited Srebrenica, where I laid a wreath and, on behalf of the entire European Parliament, expressed deep sympathy for all the victims’ families. I believe that Srebrenica is a place that every European should visit. It is a very important place to remind us of what a lack of openness and understanding leads to.
I also wish to inform you of three current issues. This coming Wednesday, we will hold a priority debate. The President of the European Council, Mr Van Rompuy, the President of the European Commission, Mr Barroso, and the President of the Eurogroup and Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Mr Juncker, have decided to take part in this debate. This is a very important debate, as we are aware, and I encourage all of you to attend it.
Another piece of information is the fact that, today at 15.00, the plenary session of the Euro-Med Scola youth parliament came to an end. It was attended by representatives from 40 countries, and thus by young members of parliament from 40 countries in the Mediterranean region, including most EU Member States. They worked in five working groups: social dialogue and engagement; migration and integration; equal opportunities; environment, transport and renewable energy; and education and employment. They raised many of the same issues that we discuss on a daily basis: civil society, social dialogue, true equality in access to education, broad environmental protection, and achieving a balance in North Africa and the Middle East with the gradual development of a more affluent society, which is so difficult in some countries in the region.
We can be proud of this responsibility for the future of the whole Mediterranean region. I wish to inform you that our young friends are now with us in the gallery. I warmly welcome these 250 people from the Mediterranean region – a parliament which has met in this hall over two days. Yesterday and today, these young people surrounding us now were sitting in your places. We warmly welcome you!
Another piece of information I have for you is that I wish to invite you to take part in the high-level human rights conference which will take place at the European Parliament on 23 November. This will also be a meeting of Sakharov prize winners. The attendance of 12 prize winners has been confirmed. Perhaps not everybody will be able to attend for various reasons, but it seems that they would very much like to be there with us. There will be a broad discussion with human rights activists from all over the world. This conference will last all day on 23 November at the European Parliament, and at the end of the day, there will be an open meeting with Brussels residents at the Bozar Centre."@en1
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