Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin (PPE-DE). – (FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in times of uncertainty, the European Union must return to its basic principles. We now need to complete the implementation of the four freedoms that form the basis of the internal market. The free movement of workers still needs to be implemented and, to that end, it is vital to lift the restrictions imposed when the new Member States acceded as soon as possible.

This distrust is misplaced, because we can see that, in the 15 countries where the restrictions have been lifted, there have been no massive influxes. Surprisingly, only 2% of European citizens work outside their country, whereas a third of Americans live in a state other than the one in which they were born. The invasion is nothing but a fantasy, and the mobility of workers is a challenge. Mr Őry's report sets the objective of lifting the restrictions by 2009, and I support this objective. The French Prime Minister has also indicated that France would anticipate this movement by lifting these restrictions in a gradual and controlled manner.

The resolution adopted by the European Trade Union Confederation in December 2005 opens up paths that reconcile the opening up of borders with appropriate protection. The amendments adopted by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs go down this route, in order to ensure that employment law is applied in the Member States, specifically to ensure that Community standards are implemented, in particular those in the posting of workers directive, and in order to look into the creation of a European centre to coordinate the inspection services of the Member States. By producing standardised statistics on Community migration, we will be able to set up the toolkit for a social Europe within the Union, which will confirm that the free movement of workers must not be synonymous with dumping or the lowest common social denominator, but must be a factor in the economic dynamism that will enable us to iron out pockets of under-employment.