Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-21-Speech-1-076-000"
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"en.20120521.15.1-076-000"2
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"Mr President, last December saw the passing of 10 years since the meeting held in Ottawa between the then President-in-Office of the Council, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien. At the time, they declared joint action to strengthen ties between the European Union and Canada. Much has happened in the international arena since then. The treaty which forms the basis of the European Union has undergone two major transformations. During this time, the euro has become the common currency of many of Europe’s countries. There has also been the greatest enlargement of the European Union in its history.
The values shared by the citizens of the European Union and Canada have strengthened and fortified the foundations of mutual cooperation, and the scope of that cooperation has extended much further than was foreseen in the initial plan. Plans have emerged in the fields of property rights, competition law and government procurement. It has not been possible to regulate all the new areas in this time but, as can be seen, further work is under way in order to ensure full implementation of the agreements which do already exist. I think, therefore, that there is a need for a breath of fresh air and – as I see it – for essential steps to be taken to develop economic relations between the European Union and Canada in the 21st century. Therefore, I welcome the progress being made in ongoing work in this area – the area of visa-free travel on an equal basis for the citizens of all the European Union’s Member States.
I do, of course, remember that not all the Union’s citizens are being treated equally. The explanations being offered by the Canadians make it look as if they are just dragging their feet instead of making a definitive decision. We Poles are experiencing similar treatment in our contacts with Canada’s neighbour, the United States. Although we are treated at the American border as European Union citizens, we are unfortunately treated as second-class European Union citizens. I think the economic and trade agreement being negotiated between the EU and Canada must not just contain measures on economic matters, but must also include measures which regulate civil matters. If we allow citizens from different EU Member States to be treated unequally, we are admitting that the common foreign policy, which also covers visa matters, does not in fact exist, in which case we would do better to stop spending large sums of money on it. Furthermore, it should also be remembered that what we are asking for – the ability to enter Canada without a visa – will only give EU citizens the same rights as those held by Canadian citizens, because after all, Canadians already enjoy visa-free travel to the EU."@en1
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