Positive EP vote on Csaba Sógor’s report
MEP voted 382 for, 250 against and 23 abstentions on the report about the readmission agreement between the EU and Pakistan on September 21st at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
This is the first readmission agreement the EP had to accept since the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The document containing the EP’s opinion was prepared by DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor.
On September 18, 2000 the Council authorized the European Commission to conduct talks between the European Community and Pakistan about a future readmission agreement. After several rounds of negotiations an agreement was finally signed on October 26, 2009. After the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union became the legal successor of the European Community and according to the new regulations, the EP needed to give its consent to the proposed agreement. The report received a favorable opinion from the Foreign Affairs Committee and was voted on by the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
During the debate preceding the vote MEP Csaba Sógor reminded that the agreement hold within itself the mutual readmission of EU citizens, third country citizens and people without citizenship alike, as well as the technical details of these readmissions. He added that the agreement can be an important tool in combating illegal immigration into the EU and raises the level of safety for EU citizens. Pakistan is an important country of origin or transit for immigrants who do not meet the necessary requirements to enter or to stay in an EU member state.
The agreement with Pakistan is also important from a regional point of view because it will aid the EU in its efforts to cooperate more closely with other countries of the region.
- We are deeply moved by the events in Pakistan during the recent floods and we are deeply concerned about the infringement of human rights in Pakistan and all over the world, but we are even more concerned about the fact that human rights are being violated in countries that have signed the Geneva convention on immigrant rights – said the Hungarian MEP from Transylvania.
Csaba Sógor stressed the importance of human rights, but said that the agreement isn’t just about human rights in Pakistan: - The citizens of the EU expect safety, the member stated expect safety, so let me present an example that happened in the UK in May 2010. Two Pakistani students were arrested under the suspicion of terrorism, but the courts ruled that their deportation would endanger their life, so they can stay in the UK. So we are right to expect the protection of human rights from Pakistan when we are talking about readmission, but we also need to have faith in the judiciary system of the member states.
On September 18, 2000 the Council authorized the European Commission to conduct talks between the European Community and Pakistan about a future readmission agreement. After several rounds of negotiations an agreement was finally signed on October 26, 2009. After the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union became the legal successor of the European Community and according to the new regulations, the EP needed to give its consent to the proposed agreement. The report received a favorable opinion from the Foreign Affairs Committee and was voted on by the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
During the debate preceding the vote MEP Csaba Sógor reminded that the agreement hold within itself the mutual readmission of EU citizens, third country citizens and people without citizenship alike, as well as the technical details of these readmissions. He added that the agreement can be an important tool in combating illegal immigration into the EU and raises the level of safety for EU citizens. Pakistan is an important country of origin or transit for immigrants who do not meet the necessary requirements to enter or to stay in an EU member state.
The agreement with Pakistan is also important from a regional point of view because it will aid the EU in its efforts to cooperate more closely with other countries of the region.
- We are deeply moved by the events in Pakistan during the recent floods and we are deeply concerned about the infringement of human rights in Pakistan and all over the world, but we are even more concerned about the fact that human rights are being violated in countries that have signed the Geneva convention on immigrant rights – said the Hungarian MEP from Transylvania.
Csaba Sógor stressed the importance of human rights, but said that the agreement isn’t just about human rights in Pakistan: - The citizens of the EU expect safety, the member stated expect safety, so let me present an example that happened in the UK in May 2010. Two Pakistani students were arrested under the suspicion of terrorism, but the courts ruled that their deportation would endanger their life, so they can stay in the UK. So we are right to expect the protection of human rights from Pakistan when we are talking about readmission, but we also need to have faith in the judiciary system of the member states.
