Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-08-Speech-3-047"
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Mr President, Mr Antonione, ladies and gentlemen, on 16 and 17 October, the European Council is going to address the questions of strengthening the area of freedom, security and justice and reviving our economy. Today, I would like to focus on these two key areas.
Today, we find ourselves having to contend with migration flows in which it is difficult to distinguish between refugees in search of asylum and economic migrants: the two are very often confused. We must therefore offer protection to those in need while, at the same time, regulating access for the others in an organised manner. First and foremost, however, we need to strengthen the institution of asylum, which is an integral part of our humanitarian tradition but which seems to be coming under heavy fire from public opinion in many countries. To implement the Thessaloniki European Council’s conclusions by the end of the year, the Commission will complete the first phase of the development of the common asylum system agreed at Tampere by adopting the two directives not yet in place: one on procedures and one – a complex but important document – on the definition of refugee.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I will now turn briefly to the other major subject that will be addressed by the Brussels Council: how to help revive Europe’s economy. Needless to say, the last two years have not produced encouraging signs from our economy. The current picture is of weak growth, little confidence on the part of households and businesses and low levels of investment. However, a few recent indicators suggest that the corner may about to be turned – let us hope so – and that the current slump may, at last, be in sight, barring tensions in international politics.
The underlying economic conditions (the fundamentals) are good because the Member States have stuck to the rules and behaved in less divergent ways, particularly following the introduction of the euro, and thanks to an increased awareness of the need to implement the structural reforms agreed in Lisbon. We must therefore give our economy fresh impetus. To this end, last week, the Commission adopted the European Initiative for Growth, which will now be put before the Council for approval. The Initiative is, of course, based on the Lisbon strategy on investment in networks and knowledge. However, its objective is to mobilise additional public and, above all, new private funds
in the shorter term to finance European-scale infrastructure projects and boost research and innovation.
The message to our citizens is, therefore, that we are laying the practical foundations for structural, long-term improvements to our competitiveness. A European transport and communications network is essential to better integrate our economies and to increase cohesion. By demonstrating our determination, we will send out a clear signal that the Union is, at last, able to take economic decisions that can no longer be put off.
The new market opportunities guaranteed by the financial commitment of the Member States and the private sector will, in turn, encourage direct input from European businesses. The direct effects of the investments in the projects will be seen as soon as work is started on the construction sites, which, in a large number of cases, could be quite soon.
The Initiative we are presenting to you today has benefited from experience gained from previous initiatives and attempts to resolve problems that have caused delays in the past. As part of the strategy, last week, the Commission adopted a package that includes 29 major trans-European network projects involving a total investment of some EUR 220 billion between now and 2020.
This is the overall picture of what must be achieved if we are to provide the single market with an effective infrastructure to make our economy more competitive. However, it is clear that only certain projects will be ready for implementation in the near future. The Commission will give the European Council an indication of the timetable for completing the works listed to enable the Heads of State or Government to concentrate all their efforts and make the greatest possible contribution to boosting the economy in the short term.
While the Initiative looks for greater private sector investment, there is clearly still a key role for public financing. This makes the balance and, above all, the quality of public expenditure absolutely crucial. We must direct investment towards growth. To increase leverage and thus speed up the completion of the works, we propose increasing the contribution from the Community budget from 10% to 30% for the cross-border aspects of the highest priority projects. This will make it possible to mobilise far greater private sector resources.
We also need to give the European Investment Bank a greater role, however. To this end, the Initiative proposes to give it a greater role in easing the burden and sharing the financial risks. We will also urge the Member States to step up their investment in research, development and knowledge to encourage the development of physical and human capital. These are the only recipes for safeguarding sustainable employment in the long term.
I cannot repeat enough – picking up on what Mr Antonione said about the inadequate level of research – that supremacy in international competition is to be achieved through innovation, centres of excellence and the development and transmission of information and knowledge. We also need to do more in terms of lifelong learning and training for our citizens. In addition to the great efforts they are making in the field of structural reform, the Member States will also, therefore, need to step up their work in these areas, taking advantage of Community resources such as the Sixth Framework Programme, the performance reserve and the mid-term review of the Structural Funds in 2004.
Immigration stopped being a purely national question some time ago. It was transformed dramatically into a European question as the ever-increasing flows of immigrants and the increase in related crime set the alarm bells ringing in all the Member States. The management of our borders must therefore become a shared task that we tackle together in the interests of us all. The impending enlargement will extend the Union’s external borders and the new Member States will become almost entirely responsible for them.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we must link up the major European research centres, support their activities and make them attractive to academics and scientists throughout the world. There is nothing for it: we must take the decision to provide Europe with the best centres of excellence in the world, for, otherwise, our children will lose enthusiasm for research and innovation. We must concentrate on technical and scientific innovation and on ways of helping manufacturers turn innovation into new processes and products.
These are the playing fields on which we will win or lose our future prosperity, our influence on the international stage and our capacity to defend Europe’s interests and uphold its values in the world. Therefore, we must find the political will to meet this challenge and press forward resolutely towards the goal which I know you, too, are striving to achieve.
Alone, the new countries are in no position to manage this onerous task, which involves not just policing but also – and perhaps above all – political and social planning. Our human social conscience tells us that unlawful trafficking in human beings and hopeful voyages undertaken under inhumane conditions cannot be tolerated. At the same time, we must address the question of migration flows resolutely and coordinate the management of our common borders. The Thessaloniki European Council showed the way, stressing the need to step up implementation of the Tampere programme, particularly with regard to a common European policy on asylum and migration. At the next Council, the Commission will fulfil the mandate assigned to it by the European Council by presenting a series of measures with a view to completing the common policy.
As an initial move, the idea of setting up an agency for the management and operational coordination of border controls is currently being explored and the Council will be able to take a decision on this by the end of the year. The agency will not replace national border guards. Its tasks will involve organising horizontal operations such as risk analysis, training, research and the procurement of equipment to be loaned to Member States. A special study has been carried out on sea borders with a view to incorporating them in the overall organisation of the Union’s external borders. The Commission will also propose introducing biometric identification methods for visas and residence permits that will later be incorporated into the major computer systems, most notably the second generation of the Schengen Information System. We are also preparing initiatives aimed at making passports more secure. When tackling this extremely sensitive issue, however, we will always bear in mind that the need for security and controls must not jeopardise our citizens’ right to privacy.
The most pressing issue is undoubtedly the question of migration flows. Legal immigrants are actually an economic, cultural and human resource that we must welcome and integrate into our societies as best we can, with due regard for their dignity. A pro-active policy on economic immigration and integration therefore needs to take account of the situation in the immigrants’ country of provenance, our economic and social needs and our effective capacity to integrate the new arrivals.
It is also our duty to combat illegal immigration, however. In the coming months we will need to focus on two instruments: readmission agreements and return policies. As requested by the Council, the Commission has opened negotiations with third countries to establish readmission procedures for citizens who have entered the European Union unlawfully. Although great efforts have been made, these are difficult negotiations because the Commission has to persuade third countries not only to readmit their own citizens but also to allow citizens on their way back to other states to pass through those countries.
Our experience shows that the negotiations will be successful only if they are conducted within a broader framework and we can bring to the table a number of incentives. For example, in the Authorised Destination Status agreement we concluded only last week with China, which includes a readmission clause, economic considerations played a significant role. Some might say that they should not have done, but that is the way things are.
The other important point is the need to offer our partner countries guaranteed immigration quotas, preferably within the context of negotiations involving economic cooperation, development aid and access to markets. Indeed, it is essential that the Member States facilitate our negotiating position so that we can reach fair agreements that help to create the necessary climate of cooperation and trust with the partner countries.
All the various stages of any return policy must be adequately financed. To ensure that operations are efficient and are conducted with full respect for the dignity of the persons concerned, in autumn the Commission will propose creating a special financial instrument to fund returns over the period from 2004 to 2006. On the basis of this experience, we will be in a position to include a genuine European Fund for Repatriation in the new Financial Perspective that will enter into force in 2007."@en1
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