Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Charter of Fundamental Rights is urgently needed for political reasons. As integration has marched on, it has become apparent that, increasingly, we are falling short in our efforts to protect fundamental rights. This has its origins in the fact that increasingly, the individual Member States have been transferring sovereignty rights and competences to the Union, yet the protection of the fundamental rights of citizens of the Union is still only dealt with at national level. It is high time that we tackled these shortcomings in the protection of fundamental rights. At the same time, the Charter of Fundamental Rights represents a great opportunity for Europe. Why? Firstly, because after many years we are at last getting down to a project that many committed citizens, non-governmental organisations, and various political forces, not to mention this House, have long been calling for. Secondly, it will enable us to boost the public image of European integration for two reasons; the first being that it will enable us to strengthen democracy, and the second being that by establishing rights for those who live in the Union, we will at last be able to make this Europe visible and comprehensible to each and every individual in a very concrete way. This is extremely important to my mind. We have all experienced only too often just how little people comprehend what goes on in this remote and illusory place called Brussels, and how much disapproval there is. Time and again, people ask, and rightly so, what is this Europe actually all about? What purpose does it serve? What do I personally get out of it? If what we want is for the citizens to say: “Yes, I have a stake in this European project too”, then the Charter of Fundamental Rights can help to bring this about. What will this Charter have to deliver, for us to be able to make full use of this opportunity? I would like to make five points in this connection. Firstly: in terms of standards, the Charter of Fundamental Rights must not fall behind the fundamental rights in existence in our countries, as it must not fall behind those enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. At the same time, it must be viable for the twenty-first century and take account of the new developments in our societies. Secondly, it is only natural that the Charter should encompass all the policies of the Union; Community law as well as the second and third pillars, and, as such, make it incumbent on all bodies and institutions to preserve fundamental rights in the course of their decision-making and in the development and implementation of policies. Thirdly – and I cannot do other than support Mrs Boumediene-Thiery from the Group of the in this – the Charter of Fundamental Rights must establish rights for all those who live in the Union, and not, for example, create first and second-class rights for first and second-class citizens respectively. Fourthly, I support the demand raised in the report for the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be made legally binding and an integral part of the EU Treaty. In my view, the onus is on the Council to consider and revise its position on this. If the Charter did not form part of the Treaty, it would not be legally enforceable for each and every individual, and this would understandably only meet with disappointment and a lack of comprehension on the part of the people, who would say “ all they have done in Brussels is describe a piece of paper”. Fifthly, it is especially important to us as a group that the social fundamental rights should not fall by the wayside or only be taken account of half-heartedly. I would like to emphasise my support for Mrs van den Burg on this point. The right to work, to have somewhere to live, to health, and the right to form trade unions and to strike are inalienable. We already have some concerns in this respect, particularly in view of the fact that practically all the amendments relating to this were rejected following the votes in committee. We are firmly committed to seeing social rights become firmly established in law. We also hope that this Parliament will set down a clear political marker in this matter during tomorrow’s vote in plenary sitting. On a final note, I would just like to add that we cannot declare at a special summit meeting in Lisbon that full employment should be our political goal, but at the same time, refuse to incorporate social fundamental rights into the Charter. This contradiction is not politically defensible to my mind.

Political group: GUE-NGL