Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-22-Speech-3-029"
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"en.20031022.2.3-029"2
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"Mr President, Mr Berlusconi’s statement on the tragic humanitarian situation in Lampedusa is, thank goodness, corroborated by fact. I have called upon President Cox to send a European Parliament mission to Lampedusa. Europe can come to Lampedusa and other places to see, for instance, the work carried out by Italian policemen
and coastguards, whom I have seen in their patrol boats sharing their ration of food and water and often giving it all to these poor wretches at sea, conveyed by foul traffickers to our borders.
As well as taking humanitarian measures, however, the States and the European Union have a duty to send a firm, clear, severe warning to the politicians of the immigrants’ countries of provenance, who bear the heavy moral responsibility for not combating this trafficking of human flesh, as it is the duty of all civilised countries to do.
Yesterday, the High Representative of one of these African countries was our honoured guest, and we even applauded him. He is the leader of one of the countries which has yet to ratify, has yet to conclude the readmission agreements which are so necessary and which are the real guarantee of a policy genuinely combating trafficking of illegal immigrants.
We warmly welcome the decision taken by the European Union to include biometric indicators, which are essential for identification, in visas, residence permits and passports. Like you, therefore, we hope that the Justice and Home Affairs Council will adhere as far as is possible to the deadline of 2003 for reaching agreement on the Council’s proposals on this very badly needed measure.
The activities of previous Italian left-wing governments have, I am afraid, been characterised by huge-scale, foul theft from the people of Africa. I would reassure Mr Barón Crespo that we will ensure that this kind of racism, which is so harmful and so deeply offensive to those peoples, ceases. We will exercise the greatest transparency in giving aid to the developing world. That aid must never again be used – as, I am sad to say, has happened in the past, and we should be ashamed of it – for business or, even worse, as illegal funding for political parties in Italy or other countries, maybe, in Europe."@en1
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