Mr President, Commissioner, I believe it is important that, for the first time in this legislature – though a little late – we are holding a debate on the phenomenon of migration linked to two relevant and important issues: the integration of immigrants residing legally in the European Union – and I would stress the aspect of legality in the reception society – and the way this relates to employment opportunities, as an essential element of economic immigration. We are dealing with the important issue of determining the reception capacity of the Member States according to the needs of their labour markets, and we are doing so from two points of view: quantitative and qualitative. It is therefore crucial for governments to make realistic offers which are as far as possible in line with available jobs, temporary or permanent, which can be filled by means of migratory flows, which ultimately have the effect of balancing the European Union's demographic deficit. This would be of benefit to the Member States and the immigrants’ countries of origin. Furthermore, the problem is currently arising – with tragic results in many cases, as we are seeing – of the emergence of a hidden economy in sectors such as agriculture, domestic service and construction; an economy which is fed partly by illegal immigration and which leads to subhuman situations and conditions both from a strictly employment point of view and from a social point of view. This leads to the establishment of ghettos and communities which are entirely fragmented and that face serious problems in surviving in the host countries. Having said this, Commissioner, Mr President, we can spend every day holding seminars and meetings, and applying all our attention to multiculturalism and integration from a religious point of view, and other issues, which lead us nowhere unless we establish crystal clear conditions for legal and ordered entry which guarantee immigrants a job in the European Union and facilitate their reception and social, cultural and political integration. In short, Mr President, from a human point of view. With regard to the political aspect of integration, which has been subject to much debate today, I believe that our Group’s Amendment No 4 must be given particular attention by the other political groups. For example, how can we ask for the right to vote in European elections for immigrants residing legally – I imagine – in the Union, when they cannot vote, for logical and constitutional reasons, in the legislative elections of the State they live in? That is, they cannot elect the governments of the Member States but they can elect that of the European Union. Ladies and gentlemen of the , allow me to say that this is a crazy proposal, and that the Groups supporting it must seriously reconsider. On voting issues, ladies and gentlemen of the , there must be no room for demagoguery. In any event, we can do nothing if we restrict ourselves to wishing to resolve this problem by making the European Union solely responsible, without demanding that countries of origin co-operate very actively in the ordered flow of their own immigrants, which would mean these countries having the necessary administrative structures to organise their migratory flows, also making it more attractive for their own workers to return and, naturally, preventing mass exoduses, as is currently the case in certain border countries or, also – let us not forget – from countries on the other side of the Atlantic, as a result of their economic, political and social instability.

Political group: PPE-DE