Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-15-Speech-2-363"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2009-12-15"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Defence of the principle of subsidiarity - Display of religious and cultural symbols in public places (debate)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20091215.21.2-363"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2009-12-15-Speech-2-3642
lpv:speaker	lp:Sophia in 't Veld2
lpv:spoken text	"Madam President, the somewhat misleading title of today’s debate includes the word ‘subsidiarity’. Subsidiarity, as I understand it, means taking decisions at the level closest to the citizen, and that level is the citizen – the individual citizen. What you are saying in your resolutions is that the rights of a national state are above the rights of individual citizens. It is our job in this House to protect the rights of citizens, not the rights of states. Secondly, if we consider – as you claim – that this is not a matter for the European Union, I would like to understand why these matters are included in the Copenhagen criteria, and why we demand from candidate countries that they respect the separation of church and state when we cannot demand that of our own Member States. Thirdly, colleagues, if you say that the European Parliament is not competent to talk about these matters, I wonder why we are competent to discuss matters like the shape of cucumbers but not the fundamental rights of our citizens. As to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Court ruling, we are now two weeks after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which requires that the EU accede to the Convention on Human Rights. Would it not be incomprehensible if we, at the same time, refused to accept the authority of the Court of Strasbourg? We cannot explain that to our citizens. Secondly, I think – and this has been said by Mr López before – politicians have no business interfering in Court rulings. Let the judges do their jobs. We may have an opinion – we may like the ruling or we may not like it – but we should not interfere in their work. My group, the ALDE Group – the European Liberals – is the champion of a Europe that is for all citizens. ALDE believes in a Europe of diversity, where everybody has the right to their own conscience, their own religion and even the freedom from religion. I will now conclude. The states – not the courts, the states – must ensure an environment where all citizens can live freely, according to their own conscience. They should be protected by the state, and I think the situation is very serious if they feel the need to go to court in order to defend themselves from the states. Colleagues, reject the EPP and ECR resolutions."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member; Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3,3 member_of_the_bureau; ALDE (2009-07-20--2014-06-30)3,3 member; FEMM (2009-07-16--2012-01-18)3,3 unknown; Democraten 66 (2009-07-14--2014-06-30)3,3 substitute; ECON (2009-07-16--2012-01-18)3,3 substitute; Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (2009-10-08--2010-01-27)3,3 substitute; Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3,3 vice-chair; LIBE (2009-07-16--2012-01-18)3,3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Sophia in 't Veld,"1 "on behalf of the ALDE Group."1
lpv:videoURI	<go to Events_and_structure europarl>2

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