Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-21-Speech-1-063-000"
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"en.20120521.15.1-063-000"2
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"Madam President, the CETA agreement, which is currently being negotiated, marks progress in trade and economic relations between the European Union and Canada. However, it also symbolises a major paradox and serious contradiction on the part of the European Union.
This agreement will allow goods and services produced in Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic to move freely in Canada, and yet the citizens of these states do not enjoy the same right. In other words, goods produced in Romania, Bulgaria or the Czech Republic are, unfortunately, more important than the actual citizens of these Member States. This is an anomaly and act of discrimination which cannot be accepted, also highlighting the European Commission’s inability to guarantee equal rights for EU citizens. The European Parliament must constantly remind the Commission and Council that any lack of solidarity between Member States means that the European Union cannot function under ideal conditions.
At the same time, we can also say that the spirit of good cooperation is lacking from Canada. While, in the case of the Czech Republic, the reason given has discriminatory tones against an ethnic group, when it comes to Romania, Canada is keeping the refusal rate artificially high to justify these citizens not being included in the visa waiver programme. This is affecting numerous Romanian citizens, and I would like to mention here just those who have agreed to have their names made public: Maria Dalcu, Cosmin Drăgoi or Nicolae Ion. They have submitted complaints to us about the unjustified way in which Canadian consulates have turned down their visa applications. There are far more cases than this, which makes me even question the good faith of the Canadian authorities involved.
There are also definitely positive messages coming from the Canadian authorities which I have had the opportunity to meet as part of several official delegations. During the most recent visit to Ottawa, early this month, we received assurances both from the Federal Minister for emigration and from members of the Federal Parliament that the visa issue would be resolved once the new immigration law is adopted in June. However, tangible progress is extremely slow. Even if the new law comes into force, it is not clear when and if visas will be waived for citizens from Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, as other conditions may be used to continue blocking visa-free entry to Canada for citizens from these three countries.
I wish to stress once again that the visa issue must not be sidelined by either Canada or the European Commission, but needs to be a priority on the bilateral relations agenda. As I have already said, goods and services cannot be more important than actual citizens. As representatives of these European citizens, it is our role to ensure that their rights take precedence over any other economic considerations. This is why I wish to end by saying loud and clear that ratification of the CETA agreement may also depend on the progress made on lifting visa requirements for Romanian, Bulgarian and Czech citizens."@en1
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