Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-342"
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"en.20051026.22.3-342"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, congratulations to Mrs Jäätteenmäki on her analysis. I agree with it. Thank you, Commissioner, for your resolute proposals.
Whether via the Barcelona Process, the association agreements or, more recently, within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy, Europe sets itself up as a partner of the countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. This partnership includes economic, social and cultural dimensions, but, above all, it must be based on mutual recognition of a political platform made up of shared indivisible values: democracy, fundamental freedoms, human rights and gender equality. Fundamental freedoms include the right to individual safety, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
At a time when human rights activists are being prevented from holding their meeting in Tunisia, at a time when we are considering the conclusions of Mr Mehlis’s report on the assassination of Mr Hariri, we must remember that. In this regard, freedom of the press, which I would like to emphasise today, and the status of journalists are without doubt the best examples of this set of shared values. Without individual security for these journalists, there is no freedom of expression, and if the press do not have freedom of expression, there is no democracy! Freedom of expression is not a Western value: it shone more brightly under the Islam of the Umayyads than in the shadows of the Inquisition.
That is why, following the assassination of Samir Kassir, following the appalling attack, more recently, on May Chidiac, I took the initiative, in agreement with my fellow members of the delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, and also with the Committee on Foreign Affairs, to organise a hearing today, during which we have heard from journalists from all over the Euro-Mediterranean area. This morning, we submitted a symbolic appeal to the President of the European Parliament, calling for a free press in the Euro-Mediterranean area. My proposal this evening is that we should engrave the freedom of the press into the marble of the Barcelona Process as an indispensable condition of our partnership agreements."@en1
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