Mr President, I very much welcome this resolution. We as democrats must once again state with clarity, consistency and conviction our total abhorrence and total opposition to racism and xenophobia in all their forms. It is our challenge to create a truly united, multi-cultural and tolerant European Union of 350 million citizens who all enjoy equal rights and equal opportunities.

However, I wish to use my brief speech this afternoon to give an example of just one form of institutional racism that occurs in the European Union. One in five of my constituents is either of Indian, Pakistani or Caribbean origin. They are all legally resident in the United Kingdom and very many of them run small and medium-sized enterprises. Yet through fear of discrimination or persecution or because they hold a third country national passport, they do not have full freedom of movement around the European Union. They do not have the same freedom of movement that I have. We are talking here of over 100,000 of my constituents alone. It is wrong that they are not allowed to enjoy the full freedom of movement that the single market creates. It is wrong because it is morally indefensible. It is wrong because it diminishes our right to call ourselves true democrats. And it is wrong that these small and medium-sized enterprises run by businessmen and women from ethnic minority communities in my Midlands West con

stituency cannot take full advantage of the single European market.

For example, how are these businesses in towns such as Dudley, Halesowen, Smethwick and Wolverhampton going to meet the challenges issued by the Thyssen and Harrison reports in support of small and medium-sized enterprises that we passed with big majorities in this House only on Monday? This sort of discrimination must stop. So, I welcome this Parliament's call for action to stamp out the evils of racism and xenophobia. But now all true European democrats are looking to the Commission and to the governments of the twelve Member States of the European Union to act decisively, to act now and to act once and for all to stamp out the evils of racism and xenophobia.