Debates of the European Parliament

SITTING OF TUESDAY, 8 APRIL 2003

Right to family reunification (continuation)

Karamanou (PSE). – (EL) Mr President, I too should like to start by warmly congratulating the rapporteur on the excellent standard of her report, as the Commissioner acknowledged earlier, and I should also like to say how pleased I am that the Greek Presidency managed, after long consultations, to close – it did not start but it closed – this chapter on reuniting the families of legal immigrants, which had been pending before the Council for several years. However, Commissioner, it is my opinion that you should take also serious account of the proposals of the European Parliament.

As chairman of Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities, I think this initiative on family reunification is important, because it will be especially helpful to the women and children who are often not in a position to follow their husbands in their attempt to emigrate to the countries of the European Union in search of a better fate for themselves and their families.

Let me give you an example. Three years ago, I was invited to a general assembly of the Bangladeshi community in Athens. I entered a room where there were thousands of people, but only a few women. It was when I asked why the women were not taking part in the assembly that I realised for the first time the extent of the problem. They replied that their women and children were back home, in their countries, because they did not have the right to bring them here. I am highly satisfied, therefore, that – even with this decision by the Council which does not fully satisfy Parliament – a serious decision has been taken on this matter. Similarly, one particularly positive point of the directive is that the rights of the members of the reunited family are defined, rights relating to education and employment, in order both to ensure that they are smoothly integrated into the society of the Member State and to safeguard their employment rights, so that they do not turn into cheap labour on the job market.

Finally, I must stress that family reunification does not just form part of efforts to achieve a cohesive immigration policy; it is also a means of strengthening the Community's own social policy.