The decisions of EP taken in December narrow the gap between the EU and its citizens
MEP voted on several important issues during the plenary session of the European Parliament between 13 and 16th of December 2010, amongst which the European Citizen’s Initiative, the budget for 2011, the single application procedure for residence and work, human rights issues in the World and the EU, as well as the European Heritage Label.
During the one-minute speeches MEP Csaba Sógor, stressing the importance of native language contest conditions, called the attention of his colleagues to the success of Tímea Bakk-Dávid, who is a Hungarian journalist and has won the European Commission’s „Journalist of the Year 2010” award in Romania.
Here follows the MEP’s speech:
„Mr. President! I am pleased to see that the Romanian winner of the European Commission’s „Journalist of the Year 2010” comes from the Hungarian community in Romania. She gained the acknowledgement of the Commission with a reportage written in her mother tongue, Hungarian. Hungarian is not an official language in Romania, but it is the language the Hungarian community in Romania, numbering over one and a half million people, use in their everyday life. I thank the Commission for understanding that it cannot be criteria for exclusion if one enters the competition with an article written in an other language than the official one. On the other hand, I am left uneasy by the fact that national minorities that do not have an official language of the EU – Catalans, Corsicans, Basques and I could go on – did not have the opportunity to enter the contest with articles written in their native language. The time has come for us to take multilingualism and the co-existence of cultures into account in in every decision we make.
Much to the regret of the Hungarian MEP from Transylvania, the EP did not vote favorably on the single application procedure for residence and work. During the debate preceding the vote, Csaba Sógor called the agreement on the directive a matter of economic necessity and declared that he would like to see the member states conduct the procedure within legal and regulated boundaries. After the rejection of the report, he voiced his regrets because the proposal has been on the Council’s table for a long time and this opportunity would have enabled the EU to use a single application procedure for third country nationals requesting residence and work permits.
According to his opinion, the EP has co-decisional powers in the matter, and an agreement could have been reached, since the EP’s LIBE committee passed the report with an overwhelming vote in September.
He regrets the fact that socialist and green MEPs’ requests could not be entered into the report, so that the goal would have been reached. – It would have been important to shorten the time needed to process an application and to simplify the process: a third country nationals’ work is more valuable if he is able to start working as soon as possible. It would have been wise to regulate the conditions and number of extensions a permit is allowed, but the issue remains open and the Hungarian Presidency will have to decide – said Csaba Sógor.
With regard to the European Citizen’s Initiative, the MEP praised the proposal. Here follows Csaba Sógor’s speech:
„I hereby salute the agreement of this honorable house and the Council and hope that, together with my colleagues, we will support it. It is important to spur the public debates on European policies, to strengthen the trust in European institutions because the statistics of the last EP elections have shown a dramatic decrease in interest towards EU matters. The economic crisis in itself restrains the interest in common and EU matters. We are sending a clear message to the voters, if we manage to agree on this issue on a year after the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty: we create a new dimension in European democracy that will provide citizens with an important political, social and cultural tool at the level of the member states.”
MEPs also discussed the most efficient ways to implement the Lisbon Treaty, especially in the area of fundamental rights in the EU. Csaba Sógor presented a written declaration stressing the importance of consequent actions to counteract the infringements of fundamental rights in the EU. According to his opinion, the lack of consequent action within the EU weakens the EU efforts to promote democracy and human rights outside its borders:
„The European Union, as a community of states that offer a high level of protection of human rights, always boldly raises its voice against serious infringements taking place in other parts of the world. The European Parliament usually condemns practices that show complete disregard for the universal fundamental principles of human rights, wherever they may occur, in commendable unison. It is less often, however, that we respond with similar determination to infringements within the borders of the EU, even though this would be the most effective way to send out a message to those countries around the world that do not respect human rights.
A common EU action would achieve the greatest result if we voiced our dissatisfaction with the same determination and peremptoriness within our own area in respect of the assertion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In very few cases we call ourselves to account in connection with these ideals, which are an integral part of the European spirit, and which have been legally binding for a year now thanks to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. And in the event that we actually do so, we come across as powerless and impotent in the absence of appropriate sanctions. This, in turn, inevitably affects the force and credibility of our criticisms toward third countries and our foreign policy efforts for the promotion of human rights and democracy. I do not believe that Europe can give these up in the future.”
Beside the general evaluation of the European Heritage label, during the debate on the subject, DAHR’S MEP emphasized its Romanian implications. Since the European Heritage label is complementary to the UNESCO World Heritage list where the predominance of Romanian monuments prohibits the introduction of Hungarian monuments from Transylvania, Csaba Sógor considers that with the European Heritage label, an opportunity is presented.
Here follows the MEPs speech:
Mr. President, I welcome the fact that in the course of this session, this is the second proposal we are voting on, that intends to bridge the gap between the European Union and its citizens. Converted from the intergovernmental programs of several European countries into an official EU action, the introduction of the European Heritage Label will strengthen the sense of belonging to the EU, and will reinforce the recognition of differences and intercultural dialogue. It will make citizens, especially young people, aware of the importance of their role in European history and European symbolism. It can raise our awareness of our common cultural heritage.
The sites that are awarded the label will be more accessible, especially to young people, and the objects embodying our common history will be put to use more appropriately. What pleases me most, personally, are the organizational aspects of the action, namely, that the selection and supervision procedures will be conducted along common, unambiguous and transparent criteria, and professional exchange of experience will proliferate. As an elected Member representing a national minority, I note with satisfaction that in the case of Romania, for example, sites nominated by objective, international experts will also have the chance of being selected in addition to the four objects already holding the label. Such sites include the Teleki Library in Târgu-Mureş, which is known as one of the bastions of Hungarian culture, or the Black Church of Braşov, which is considered a quintessential example of Saxon Gothic architectural excellence.
Here follows the MEP’s speech:
„Mr. President! I am pleased to see that the Romanian winner of the European Commission’s „Journalist of the Year 2010” comes from the Hungarian community in Romania. She gained the acknowledgement of the Commission with a reportage written in her mother tongue, Hungarian. Hungarian is not an official language in Romania, but it is the language the Hungarian community in Romania, numbering over one and a half million people, use in their everyday life. I thank the Commission for understanding that it cannot be criteria for exclusion if one enters the competition with an article written in an other language than the official one. On the other hand, I am left uneasy by the fact that national minorities that do not have an official language of the EU – Catalans, Corsicans, Basques and I could go on – did not have the opportunity to enter the contest with articles written in their native language. The time has come for us to take multilingualism and the co-existence of cultures into account in in every decision we make.
Much to the regret of the Hungarian MEP from Transylvania, the EP did not vote favorably on the single application procedure for residence and work. During the debate preceding the vote, Csaba Sógor called the agreement on the directive a matter of economic necessity and declared that he would like to see the member states conduct the procedure within legal and regulated boundaries. After the rejection of the report, he voiced his regrets because the proposal has been on the Council’s table for a long time and this opportunity would have enabled the EU to use a single application procedure for third country nationals requesting residence and work permits.
According to his opinion, the EP has co-decisional powers in the matter, and an agreement could have been reached, since the EP’s LIBE committee passed the report with an overwhelming vote in September.
He regrets the fact that socialist and green MEPs’ requests could not be entered into the report, so that the goal would have been reached. – It would have been important to shorten the time needed to process an application and to simplify the process: a third country nationals’ work is more valuable if he is able to start working as soon as possible. It would have been wise to regulate the conditions and number of extensions a permit is allowed, but the issue remains open and the Hungarian Presidency will have to decide – said Csaba Sógor.
With regard to the European Citizen’s Initiative, the MEP praised the proposal. Here follows Csaba Sógor’s speech:
„I hereby salute the agreement of this honorable house and the Council and hope that, together with my colleagues, we will support it. It is important to spur the public debates on European policies, to strengthen the trust in European institutions because the statistics of the last EP elections have shown a dramatic decrease in interest towards EU matters. The economic crisis in itself restrains the interest in common and EU matters. We are sending a clear message to the voters, if we manage to agree on this issue on a year after the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty: we create a new dimension in European democracy that will provide citizens with an important political, social and cultural tool at the level of the member states.”
MEPs also discussed the most efficient ways to implement the Lisbon Treaty, especially in the area of fundamental rights in the EU. Csaba Sógor presented a written declaration stressing the importance of consequent actions to counteract the infringements of fundamental rights in the EU. According to his opinion, the lack of consequent action within the EU weakens the EU efforts to promote democracy and human rights outside its borders:
„The European Union, as a community of states that offer a high level of protection of human rights, always boldly raises its voice against serious infringements taking place in other parts of the world. The European Parliament usually condemns practices that show complete disregard for the universal fundamental principles of human rights, wherever they may occur, in commendable unison. It is less often, however, that we respond with similar determination to infringements within the borders of the EU, even though this would be the most effective way to send out a message to those countries around the world that do not respect human rights.
A common EU action would achieve the greatest result if we voiced our dissatisfaction with the same determination and peremptoriness within our own area in respect of the assertion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In very few cases we call ourselves to account in connection with these ideals, which are an integral part of the European spirit, and which have been legally binding for a year now thanks to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. And in the event that we actually do so, we come across as powerless and impotent in the absence of appropriate sanctions. This, in turn, inevitably affects the force and credibility of our criticisms toward third countries and our foreign policy efforts for the promotion of human rights and democracy. I do not believe that Europe can give these up in the future.”
Beside the general evaluation of the European Heritage label, during the debate on the subject, DAHR’S MEP emphasized its Romanian implications. Since the European Heritage label is complementary to the UNESCO World Heritage list where the predominance of Romanian monuments prohibits the introduction of Hungarian monuments from Transylvania, Csaba Sógor considers that with the European Heritage label, an opportunity is presented.
Here follows the MEPs speech:
Mr. President, I welcome the fact that in the course of this session, this is the second proposal we are voting on, that intends to bridge the gap between the European Union and its citizens. Converted from the intergovernmental programs of several European countries into an official EU action, the introduction of the European Heritage Label will strengthen the sense of belonging to the EU, and will reinforce the recognition of differences and intercultural dialogue. It will make citizens, especially young people, aware of the importance of their role in European history and European symbolism. It can raise our awareness of our common cultural heritage.
The sites that are awarded the label will be more accessible, especially to young people, and the objects embodying our common history will be put to use more appropriately. What pleases me most, personally, are the organizational aspects of the action, namely, that the selection and supervision procedures will be conducted along common, unambiguous and transparent criteria, and professional exchange of experience will proliferate. As an elected Member representing a national minority, I note with satisfaction that in the case of Romania, for example, sites nominated by objective, international experts will also have the chance of being selected in addition to the four objects already holding the label. Such sites include the Teleki Library in Târgu-Mureş, which is known as one of the bastions of Hungarian culture, or the Black Church of Braşov, which is considered a quintessential example of Saxon Gothic architectural excellence.
