Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-13-Speech-1-173"
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"en.20060313.22.1-173"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, I believe that, notwithstanding the responses to what is happening and the various interpretations of the Directive, this is also a good opportunity to raise our voices, and I would like to add mine to those that believe that this problem is not going to be resolved until we finally put an end to this transition period. Let us hope that it ends as soon as possible, so that all Europeans may be equal and so that we may make the mobility of workers an important tool in terms of our competitiveness, our employment and the construction of the European Union.
I would therefore like to join with those people who are calling for an open door policy, and the sooner the better, and in this regard I believe — and, as a Spaniard, I am pleased about this — that my country’s government’s announcement that the restrictions during this transition period are to be lifted is very important.
We have done this, Commissioner, because we are a country with a degree of experience, being a country of immigration and one of emigration. Furthermore, we have seen clearly once again over these two years that these restrictions imposed on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe by the Europe of 15 must be lifted, for reasons of justice and solidarity, but also for reasons of rationality and common sense, today more than ever, in this year of mobility.
We must firstly look at this from the point of view of justice and solidarity. We Spaniards also had a seven-year transition period and we felt humiliated and unfairly treated as a result of a situation that was not justified, because it became clear that many of those xenophobic and racist arguments were mistaken. There was no avalanche of workers. Spanish workers never created problems in the host countries; on the contrary.
We have seen the same thing happening over the last two years with the workers of the new Member States: not only have they not created problems, but they are in fact resolving labour shortages, improving their skills and enhancing the global concept of Europe.
What I would ask, therefore, is that the study carried out by the European Commission should serve to persuade more countries to lift the restrictions and that the day should come when Europe is genuinely a Europe in which all European citizens and all European workers have the same rights, because that would be consistent, because it would be very good for mobility and because Europe needs mobility if it wants to win the productivity and competitiveness battle with the United States.
We need to create that great market of free citizens in which there will be no problems and which, furthermore, will enable us to improve our competitiveness, to improve our capacity and to improve the lives of our citizens, so that, as well as resolving specific problems, we may create something of a vision for the future in terms of removing those obstacles."@en1
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