Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-04-01-Speech-3-270"
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"en.20090401.22.3-270"2
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"Mr President, of all the fundamental rights granted to EU citizens, the one that helps unite all of us the most is the right of freedom of movement in the European Union.
Discriminatory transitional agreements that restrict the movement of workers from Member States that joined the EU after 2004 must finally be repealed or revised.
More funding must be allocated to help local integration measures for EU citizens residing in other Member States and, finally, the Commission must not hesitate to open infringement proceedings against Member States who are not complying with the Directive.
We have to recognise that Member States need finally to correctly apply and transpose the Directive so that these and other problems are resolved expediently. They should not try to escape their duties in ensuring free movement by asking for a revision to water down the Directive. The European Parliament firmly opposes such revision and thanks the Commission for doing the same.
It is time for the Member States and the Council to ensure that Europe is a place where not only capital, services and goods, but also our citizens, can circulate. Without free movement, there is no Europe.
Let me conclude by saying that I shall move a revised oral amendment to a footnote in my report in order to take away any excuse for those who oppose free movement on a nationalistic, racist or xenophobic basis, but who do not dare to declare it openly, to vote against my report.
With the roll-call vote tomorrow, we will see who supports Europe and European citizenship, free movement and citizens’ rights without discrimination, and who does not.
That right, provided for in the Treaties, is implemented by Directive 2004/38/EC, which lays down both the conditions and the restrictions for EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the EU.
As of 1 January 2006, over 8 million EU citizens have exercised this right to reside in another Member State, and millions more have used it to travel through the EU.
As the European Parliament rapporteur on the evaluation of this Directive, I must say that the concrete application of the right of free movement for our citizens is seriously undermined by Member States which erect dams in breach of the Treaties and of the Directive.
First, talking about the transposition by Member States, we can say it has been poor at best. The Commission, along with two separate studies commissioned by Parliament, points to a series of problems, some of them being breaches of the core rights of EU citizens. These problems are highlighted in my report.
There are many unjustified administrative burdens, particularly for third-country-national family members, which include: entry requirements and lengthy procedural delays; a lack of recognition of free movement rights for certain registered partners, including those in same-sex relationships; public policy exceptions to serve economic or security aims which ignore the principle of proportionality, resulting in abuses of expulsion orders; and discrimination against certain nationals and ethnic communities in relation to the rights they should be granted by the Directive.
Second, to those who chose to focus solely on abuses and misuses of this right, I agree that these issues are important, but I say that Article 35 of the Directive already provides Member States with the possibility to fight against those abuses, such as marriages of convenience or fraud – one just has to implement it.
I also want to mention that I have constructively cooperated with national parliaments, the Commission and the Committee on Legal Affairs rapporteur, Mrs Frassoni, who all share my concern over the aforementioned transposition problems and the need for all parties to help to resolve them immediately.
My report also calls for a number of measures aimed at providing solutions. One of the most important and immediate steps that must be taken is the creation by the Commission of comprehensive transposition guidelines. Those guidelines would serve to provide clarity in the interpretation of such notions as ‘sufficient resources’ and ‘public security’. Once this has been done, it will be up to the Member States to implement those guidelines, preferably by the end of 2009."@en1
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