Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-17-Speech-2-017"
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"en.20080617.4.2-017"2
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"Mr President, negotiations with the Council have been long, intensive, complicated and tough. The starting point for most Member States was: ‘How do we get rid of this directive, as we do not want any European standards on the return of illegally staying third-country nationals?’. Clearly Council and Parliament had a very different understanding of what should be a serious return directive with sufficient safeguards. Parliament had to fight for each and every single word and comma.
To everybody, and to the PSE Group in particular, it should by now be crystal clear that the compromise package puts in rules where none exist at present. Member States with more favourable conditions in place should maintain these, or introduce them if they wish to do so. National parliaments have a role to play to ensure this in the implementation of the directive. Moreover, we also secured a political declaration from the Council that this directive will not and cannot be used as an excuse to lower existing standards. Experiences with 10 other asylum and migration directives do show that the fear that there is a tendency among Member States to use the transposition of such directives as a pretext for making their national law more repressive does not materialise.
At present, no EU legislation exists as regards the return of illegally staying third-country nationals. With the adoption of the package, Community control mechanisms will become available. Infringement procedures, competence of the European Court of Justice, Commission reporting, EP monitoring: all these will be available.
Three years of debate have shown that there is no more room for manoeuvre and it is obvious that at second reading no further improvements will be made. Yes, it is unfortunate, I admit, but it is true. Council will start tabling a list with many ‘no-go’ proposals. Pandora’s Box will indeed be opened.
Clearly the current political climate in most Member States will not be of any help. So how to put in place common minimum rules where none exist at present? How to make sure that Community control mechanisms will be available? How to make sure that COE guidelines are made legally binding for all Member States?
At this stage, the fundamental question is: do we want a directive or not? Do we want a directive which is not perfect but undoubtedly a first step in the right direction, or do we not want a directive at all as we consider the current situation to be satisfactory?
Even now, many Member States would be relieved if the directive died out due to Parliament’s fault. So, what an irony that those Members of Parliament trying to break up the compromise package are effectively supporting those Member States not wanting to have any European safeguards on return in the first place!
The compromise package should be seen as a very modest but important first step. The return policy cannot be looked upon in an isolated way, but should be seen as a necessary part of a total package on migration, including legal, as well as asylum. Indeed, in my view, after almost three years of debate and negotiations, it is high time to take up our responsibility."@en1
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