Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-23-Speech-1-114"
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"en.20061023.17.1-114"2
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".
Mr President, I must truly congratulate the rapporteur on this report.
There is certainly a basis of rights that they have in common, but I believe that we should not go beyond that and mix up the two levels. There is illegal immigrant status, which is regulated and dealt with in one way. Legal immigrant status is different. To put them both on exactly the same footing sends out a dangerous message, and it is obviously on this point that we are working, in order to achieve a balanced European policy both on illegal immigration and on legal immigration.
I broadly agree with her remarks, firstly as regards access to the labour market. I believe that the role of women can represent one of the factors contributing to the creation, in Europe, of a genuinely balanced and comprehensive development and employment policy. As you will know, this is one of the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy and it is primarily a means of guaranteeing women a full role within society and a genuine life of independence, and I therefore fully support the emphasis laid on the theme of employment.
I also support the emphasis laid on the theme of the integration of immigrant women, firstly as regards language learning. Learning the language of one’s country of residence must be a fundamental part of everyone’s integration, be they men, women, children or babies. In particular, as regards women immigrants, we note that there has been a delay in guaranteeing them genuine access to the languages spoken in their host countries, and that is a factor that slows down and hinders integration.
As the rapporteur rightly points out, the theme of integration is connected to the crucial dialogue between cultures and religions. I believe that the European Union is based on absolute values in terms of respect for the dignity of every woman and every man, and that it is therefore impossible to accept, under any circumstances, acts that demean human dignity, in this case women's dignity, as they are the polar opposite of symbols of integration.
I am concerned about cases in which, for example, women are made, against their own will, to wear submissive symbols of their female status, such as veils that completely cover their faces and do not allow them to be seen. Unfortunately, these are symbols that sit uncomfortably with integration and suggest the subjection of women.
I also think it absurd that, in some European countries, so-called honour crimes, or, as I would instead call them, ‘dishonour crimes’ take place, and I will, of course, be doing even more to promote initiatives aimed at abolishing these crimes. In my view, they must be treated harshly, not lightly, because, with motives like these, they attack absolute values such as human life, physical integrity and dignity.
When applying the European directive on family reunification, we intend to pay special attention to the prevention of forced marriages. This is another theme on which I shall be working. As you know, this is a binding directive for the Member States. When applying the directive at national level, I shall pay special attention to forms of violence within the family, such as forced and polygamous marriages – which are not permitted by the laws of the European Union and of the Member States – and to the guarantees made to women in the event of separation or divorce, so that they cannot be singled out as second-class citizens when their marriages break down.
With regard to the directives on asylum seekers and refugees, I believe that one aspect needs to be highlighted. For the first time, discrimination against women must be made to count as sufficient grounds for obtaining refugee status. I believe that being subjected to violence within the family and to female genital mutilation, or being at risk of being subjected to a forced marriage, is enough of a reason for women who demonstrate that they are exposed to such risks to be granted 'refugee' status.
Finally, in all sincerity, once again, I should like to point out to the rapporteur an aspect on which I harbour some doubts, namely granting illegal woman immigrants exactly the same status as legal women immigrants. I believe that there is an area in which absolute rights must be guaranteed to everyone, without any difference in status. It is clear that people cannot be denied rights to health care, emergency medical treatment and a minimum level of subsistence just because, for a given period of time – perhaps while they are waiting to be repatriated – they reside in a country illegally."@en1
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