Parliament President Antonio Tajani told EU heads of government that citizens have been waiting for answers to the problem of how to manage migration at the start of the European Council summit on 22-23 March. He said the efforts used to close the Balkan route should also be applied to other Mediterranean routes: ”If we fail to come up with an EU strategy, we will continue to play into the hands of the populists.”
The President called on the Council to act on plans for asylum reform, more resources for Frontex, more reception centres, as well as more investment in Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, Mali, Chad and Libya to improve border controls and combat people traffickers.
Tajani also discussed the importance of completing the internal electricity market, creating a genuine capital market and introducing a minimum European rate of corporation tax as well as for firms to be taxed where they generate value. He also reiterated his call for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to explain how Cambridge Analytica was able to use the personal data of millions of people to influence the outcome of the US presidential elections.
The President also referred to the recent agreement on posted workers and stressed the need to set up a European Labour Authority: “We must continue our efforts to boost confidence in the internal market by combating unfair practices which undermine worker mobility and the ability of firms to do business wherever they want. The proposal to set up a European Labour Authority is a step in the right direction.”
Talking about the Western Balkans, Tajani underlined the need to offer these countries an EU perspective. “We must offer the region a secure future in the European fold. This is also essential in order to manage migration, control borders and combat terrorism.”
He also touched on the significance of fair trade and US moves to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium. “The real problem is Chinese overcapacity and the unfair practices China employs in order to offload the products of that overcapacity on to others. Rather than engaging in a dangerous and escalating war of words, the USA and the EU should be addressing this problem together.”
The Council summit is also dedicated to reviewing the state of Brexit negotiations. Tajani paid tribute to the progress made so far, but called attention to the issue of Ireland: “I want to make it clear once again that the European Parliament will not give its consent to a withdrawal agreement that does not incorporate solutions to rule out hard borders between the two parts of the island and which can be implemented immediately.”
Ref.: 20180316STO99924
