Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-31-Speech-3-062"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010131.4.3-062"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I too would like to thank the rapporteurs and point out that this debate has brought progress in Parliament's position on the issue of the Mediterranean policy, progress which is extremely important because, apart from anything else, over and above the differences between political groups, I can see that we have common ground on this matter which adds to our strength and the strength of the European institutions. The Union's Euro-Mediterranean strategy is just as important as its strategy on enlargement to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but we have outlined a path to follow for enlargement whereas we are still searching for a strategy for the Mediterranean policy, even though we have the partnership established by Barcelona behind us and despite the region's numerous problems, starting with the continual conflict. I will not dwell on this as the matter will be discussed later on when Mr Solana is here.
For now, I just want to say that we call for a more active, more substantial role to be played by the European governments, giving the High Representative the power to develop a policy which is not in conflict with or an alternative to the policy of the United States, but is much more substantial than the strategy currently employed by Europe with regard to the partners, whose job, I regret to say, we cannot do for them. We must therefore always bear in mind that the agreement must be based, first and foremost, on understanding and dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis.
On the other hand, we cannot lose sight of other areas of conflict such as the Western Sahara. We must never forget that the United Nations exists but that, within that framework, there is room for a European initiative, and my opinion is that, at the moment, there is room for a European initiative in the Western Sahara issue and that we could put an end to this last colonial battle.
On the subject of the partnership, I feel that we should tackle the more recent aspects, to which we invite the Commission and the Council to attach more importance than we have here today. I would like to focus on human rights and the rule of law. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union represented a considerable step forwards: that is, we acknowledge that the social and individual rights of all people are recognised on Union territory. This places us in a position where we can have dialogue with these countries, tackling the question of a Euro-Mediterranean citizenship where human rights issues are not a question of us interfering in their affairs but of the common need to establish values which are at the basis of the kind of peaceful coexistence we want. Similarly, with regard to immigration, I would argue that it is in both our and their interest to fight illegal immigration and therefore establish a European-scale policy.
With regard to agriculture, I would point out to the Swedish Presidency that it is very easy to say that we are going to open up agriculture to free trade as well. You must realise, gentlemen, that, even now, when they are subject to duties, our products are already competitive with local products on the markets of those countries: let us therefore take care for liberalisation could destroy a sector which is of vital importance for some countries. Our Moroccan friends remind us that agriculture means keeping people in the countryside, maintaining employment and protecting the environment. Let us therefore avoid superficiality and undue haste in developing strategies on sectors where we need to progress in a partnership which does not harm these countries."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples