Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-16-Speech-3-143"
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"en.20000216.9.3-143"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner Verheugen, the regulation on accession aid is not exactly an advertisement for coherent work on the part of the Commission. Rather, the way in which these aid measures have been cobbled together smacks of amateurism to me. This applies both in terms of the substance and the financial aspect. In my view, it will hardly enable us to present the accession activities conducted by the Union to the citizens of Cyprus and Malta as evidence of the fact that it is worth their while joining. As Vaclav Havel rightly said today, the European Union will be judged on its political qualities according to what it can do for the individual. As far as the citizens are concerned, it is what a regulation can do for them that matters. We will not exactly win any awards with this regulation as far as that is concerned. It is makeshift and contains heteronomous paragraphs, which is no way to set a shining example. The quality of an aid package is assessed according to the following criteria: is it decentralised, is it transparent, is it accessible to the citizens and does it work?
Nonetheless, as far as the divided island of Cyprus is concerned, overall, this pre-accession strategy is bound up with a major political challenge. In my view, it is the task of the European Union to employ all instruments, including this one, so as to contribute towards resolving the conflict on the island by political means.
I must take this opportunity to say that it is precisely the amendment submitted by the European Parliament that is so important to me in this respect. Both the Commission and the Council have been making very optimistic speeches here today as well. I am delighted that we are all heading in the same direction in this respect. I believe it would truly be preferable to secure a peaceful resolution to the problems in Cyprus before admitting this country to the European Union."@en1
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