Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-03-Speech-3-272"
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"en.20020703.7.3-272"2
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"Mr President, the Council attaches great importance to the candidate countries’ fulfilling the political criteria for accession, established in Copenhagen in 1993 and relating to democracy, the Rule of Law, human rights and the protection of minorities. It was decided that these criteria should be met before accession negotiations could be begun. The negotiations with Slovakia were not, therefore, begun until the European Council in Helsinki in December 1999 was able to state that the criteria had now been met. In its 2001 report on the future of Slovakia, the Commission concluded that the country continued to fulfil the political Copenhagen criteria. The Commission also observed that, since 1999, Slovakia had done a lot in order further to consolidate and firmly establish the stability of its institutions and so strengthen democracy, the Rule of Law and human rights. With regard to the specific question raised by the honourable Member, the bill in question is, according to what we have been told, being debated right now by the Slovakian parliament. The second reading, which should have taken place in the middle of June, may possibly be deferred because there are a lot of other bills to be debated. The Council is not at the present time able to assess the content of this bill. It would be inappropriate for the EU to interfere in the democratic process in a third country. If the bill is adopted, the EU will no doubt adopt a position on the content and, should it prove that the fundamental democratic principles, and particularly the Copenhagen criteria, have been violated, the EU will of course not hesitate to raise the issue at every available opportunity, and specifically in those bodies set up under the terms of the Europe Agreement. The Council is therefore carefully monitoring developments in relation to the bill in question and is awaiting more detailed information about the debate in Slovakia’s legislative assembly."@en1
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