Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2015-12-16-Speech-3-020-000"
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"en.20151216.7.3-020-000"2
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"Mr President, for every single one of this week’s Summit items there is no simple answer, no simple soundbite, no one policy, no one Council conclusion to solve all the crises facing Europe. And far too many people offer simplistic responses: some speak of more Europe; a single EU intelligence agency; a single European army leading to a single European government. Others speak of no Europe: closing our borders completely; no entry; no migration, no cooperation. And sometimes the only voices that appear to be heard are those of the extremes. And our politics is in danger of becoming more polarised at a time when our world becomes more complex.
So looking at the Summit agenda, there are some tough issues that need some proper thinking and planning. 2014 was a year of a new European Parliament, a new Commission and a new Council President. But 2015 has been a year of kneejerk reactions. 2016 needs to be the year for laying the groundwork for long-term solutions based on cooperation.
But these crises, they transcend the 140 characters of a tweet – do not tweet that, by the way. The migration and refugee crisis has no simple answers. There is no silver bullet. It must be tackled at source, and we must work our way to a political solution in Syria, however slowly and however frustrating that is.
Not everyone who is coming here is necessarily fleeing war, but understandably seeking a better life. Who can blame them? But we simply cannot offer everyone a home, regardless of their personal circumstances. We must have clear rules in place to grant asylum to those genuinely fleeing persecution, and to return economic migrants to apply through existing immigration channels. Instead, we see one large Member State sending out a message that everyone is welcome – regardless of their personal circumstances or their reason for travelling – and then berating other Member States when they re-erect borders. We see other Member States not living up to their responsibilities to detain and process people. When they are unable to cope, they do not ask for help. So instead of all this we see kneejerk policies in the heat of a crisis, like a relocation scheme based on a simple idea but never really rooted in reality. Only 160 people have been helped through it to date.
When reality bites, the rhetoric changes. So when Schengen states talk of re-erecting borders, we finally focus on strengthening the EU’s external borders with talk about a European border guard. Yes, we agree; enhancing Frontex and cooperating to help Frontex can help, but we need to be very careful about how what we agree now will work, not just for the next few months, but for the years ahead. And instead of compulsion over Member States, we need more cooperation between Member States, not using a crisis to undermine sovereignty.
The same goes for the terrorism crisis we now face. We must react calmly and rationally with policies to address the threat. And yes, it is good to see some of our Member States are going after Da’esh in the Middle East, but we now need to build trust between Member States’ intelligence agencies to share data, not compel them. And we must also tackle the wider issues that lead young people to be recruited by Da’esh. The identity crisis that leaves young people vulnerable to the tactics of Da’esh will only be made worse if we seek to demonise or ostracise our Muslim communities in our countries.
Now turning to the UK’s request that you reform, you may be surprised to hear that I have a few words to say about this. We all know that the majority of these requests could be accommodated relatively easily. There is some work to do to accommodate both the UK’s requests and to pursue further European reform. As a British Conservative, I am proud that it is a British Prime Minister who will deliver a referendum for the British people…
Dream on!
...As a British MEP, I will help where I can with a renegotiation process and explain to colleagues here and to my voters, who will have the final say. But as leader of the ECR Group, I hope this process will act as a catalyst for EU-wide reforms."@en1
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"(Interjection from the floor"1
"‘Rubbish, it was UKIP!’)"1
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