Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-13-Speech-2-214"
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"en.20090113.25.2-214"2
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"Mr President, I too would like to thank the rapporteur, my colleague, Mr Coelho, for his contribution. He has already succeeded in achieving a compromise with the Council and the Commission at first reading and I strongly support that compromise, including the ‘one person-one passport’ principle. However, I would like to explore this issue in a little more detail.
This principle should make it possible to offer greater protection against crimes such as child trafficking and child abduction, because every child should receive his or her own passport with a chip containing his or her biometric data. Of course, this will carry a price tag. This will certainly be the case in Member States which have until now allowed children to be included on their parents’ passports. In the Netherlands, the maximum cost of a passport is upwards of EUR 48 and the cost of including a child on his or her parent’s passport is EUR 8.50. For a family with three children this will, therefore, result in a doubling of the cost of obtaining passports, from EUR 120 at present to more than EUR 240. Of course, every parent would happily hand over that amount if it contributed to their child’s safety. Yet is it not true that, if it is possible to abduct a child, it is also possible to get hold of his or her passport? Once the amended regulation is in place, it will no longer be possible to include children on their parents’ passports. However, is it not the case that including a child on his or her parent’s passport in some cases actually serves the very interest of the child’s safety, as it indicates which parent has custody of the child? How will it then be possible to carry out effective checks of parental authority?
Within the next three years the European Commission will have to review the need for an additional regulation, for example Community rules concerning the crossing of borders by children. At present, Member States are still fairly divided on this issue. I call on the Commission to use the review to examine whether or not and how the introduction of a single passport per person has contributed to a decrease in the number of child abductions. Has the current compromise produced the desired effect or has it merely led to side effects which require resolution?
Commissioner, our children’s safety demands our permanent attention. Today we are taking one particular step. Should it be in the child’s interest to take further steps in the medium term, you will certainly find the Christian Democrats in this House on your side."@en1
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