Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-563-000"
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"en.20110119.26.3-563-000"2
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"Mr President, Libya is the European Union’s third biggest supplier of oil and gas, while the Union is Libya’s main trading partner, accounting for more than two thirds of this country’s total trade. We must also take into account the progress made by the authorities in Tripoli, which have successfully shifted the country from a situation of isolation and embargos to becoming open and economically and diplomatically dynamic.
However, the European Union is not merely a community of economic interests, but is based on a set of values which we cannot abandon for the sake of pragmatism. Admittedly, Libya no longer sponsors terrorism, has abandoned its nuclear programme, agreed to pay compensation to the families of terrorist attack victims, released the Bulgarian nurses condemned to death for spreading HIV and concluded agreements with some European states. I think that we must encourage this progress, but the partnership between the European Union and Libya needs to have a solid moral foundation.
In this respect, the report from Mrs Gomes, whom I would like to congratulate on the job she has done, highlights the serious shortcomings in the respect for human rights, which we are duty-bound to tackle. Last year, we adopted a resolution in which we asked Libya to abolish capital punishment. I believe that it is appropriate for us to reiterate this request for abolition, backed up by the request to comply with international norms for legal fairness, especially as foreigners are victims of abuses.
Particular attention must be focused on the problem of migrants and refugees, both those extradited by Libya to their countries of origin where their lives are exposed to serious threats, and those returned by Italy to Libya where they are likely to face harsh reprisals. On the other hand, pressure is required for Libyan asylum legislation to be adopted and for agreements to open the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which kept a record in Libya of almost 13 000 refugees and asylum seekers.
As regards the readmission agreement as part of the EU-Libya Framework Agreement, I call on the Council to drop this plan as it would involve repatriation to a country which systematically violates human rights. The policy of the Berlusconi government cannot be accepted as the example to follow. The Italian exception must not become the European rule."@en1
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