PES President supports the Declaration of the Romanian and Italian delegations of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament

24 November 2007

During the PES Council in Sofia, 22-23 November 2007, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES President, supported the statement of the Italian and Romanian delegations of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament on the recent developments in Italy, which involved a citizen of Roma origin.

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen expresses its grief at the violent death of Giovanna Reggiani, for which a Romanian citizen has been accused. He strongly condemns the racist and organized aggression against European citizens from Romania, legally resident in Italy.

National policies have to respond to the legitimate request for security and, at the same time, have to respect the limits guaranteeing the freedoms and rights of all EU citizens.

European Socialists believe in an enlarged Europe, in the values of the European Union and in the Schengen area as a space of freedom, security and justice. The freedom to move across borders while at the same time the right to living in security in the common space, and the duty to control borders and to give the police and the judges in every Member State effective tools to cooperate and to prosecute every type of crime, is a pillar of European citizenship.

We deeply reject the principle of ‘collective responsibility’ that is often used by those who intend to feed hatred and violence at the heart of Europe, and we strongly reaffirm the necessity to fight every sort of racism and xenophobia, every discrimination based upon nationality or ethnic origin, as stated in the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union.

Immigration brings an economic and cultural benefit but it is absolutely necessary to manage it. Member States have to do away with any hesitation to define a stronger European coordination to manage migratory flows in the European Union.

We consider that the challenge of integration and the protection of the Roma minority should be managed at the European level: it is not acceptable that the Roma minority is still the victim of abuse and discrimination in the territory of the European Union, which it often has to avoid. Concrete action against these discriminations will be the focus of the daily action of the PES, and it still needs adequate policies.