Draft contribution of the Senate of the Italian Republic
The COSAC,
meeting in Brussels on 4 and 5 October on the occasion of its 25th Conference,
- having heard the debate on the future of the European Union;
considering the protocol on the role of national parliaments, noting the positions emerged on this issue at the 24th COSAC, considering that the conclusions to be achieved will be all the more relevant if delegations from national parliaments are represented as comprehensively as possible;
INVITES the European Union to examine the viability of doubling the members of national parliaments participating in the preparatory convention for the 2004 IGC;
- on food safety:
considering the White Paper COM (1999) 719 which shows the need for the European Union to adopt a new legal framework assuring a high level of consumer protection and health; having agreed on all 84 proposals drafted by the Communication, but considering the one relating to the establishment of an independent Authority a priority;
INVITES the European Union to establish an independent European Food Authority in the shortest possible time;
- on common asylum and immigration policy:
considering the Treaty of Amsterdam and the conclusions of the Tampere European Council; having assessed the proposal COM (2001) 386 on common entry and residence requirements applicable in member States to workers from third countries and bearing in mind the need to adopt common measures against clandestine migration networks and common border policing,
INVITES the European Union to propose an action plan against illegal migration and trafficking in human beings at the Laeken European Council, which should provide harsh criminal measures against traffickers of human beings, administrative sanctions for illegal immigrants - including their immediate expulsion -, and should make residence permits obtainable only by those having a work contract.
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