Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-06-Speech-3-040"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20021106.6.3-040"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, first of all I would like to express my thanks for the positive reception given to me, and I would also like to take this opportunity to express my great appreciation of the close and fruitful cooperation between the European Parliament and the Danish Presidency. It is a cooperation to which we attach the utmost importance, and therefore it is a great pleasure for me to note that the cooperation is taking such a positive form.
We now have a road for our further negotiations to follow, however: the Presidency and the Commission have a solid foundation on which to negotiate at the Copenhagen Summit, and that creates clarity. It creates clarity both for the current Member States and for the candidate countries. They will not be faced with a
. We will meet them with an offer of practical negotiations and call upon them to make the last crucial effort. There must be no doubt that we in the Presidency will approach this task with all our energy and with an untiring will to achieve results.
The Presidency had three objectives for the Brussels Summit:
Firstly, we wanted to bring about agreement as to the basis for the final enlargement negotiations with the candidate countries. In other words, decisions on the choice of countries, decisions on the outstanding financial issues and decisions on the final remaining institutional issues.
Secondly, we wanted to agree a common EU policy on the issue of transit between Kaliningrad and Russia, to provide a clear basis for negotiations ahead of the EU-Russia Summit on 11 November.
Finally, and thirdly, the Presidency attached great importance to the Brussels Summit taking place in accordance with the decisions made at the Seville Summit. These decisions mean shorter as well as more effective and focused European Councils.
I am pleased to report that we achieved our objectives in all three areas.
We succeeded in giving the summit a form which reflects the spirit and decisions of Seville. It was a brief Council lasting just over 24 hours with a concentrated agenda which was thoroughly prepared, an agenda which was devised with the greatest possible degree of openness. I may mention that the annotated agenda for the summit could be found on the Presidency’s web site in the weeks leading up to Brussels, allowing everyone to follow the preparations.
I personally attached great importance to the Brussels Summit being as focused and results-oriented as possible, and I am very pleased with the result. I believe that we succeeded in creating procedures which I hope will serve as inspiration for future presidencies.
With regard to Kaliningrad, too, the Presidency achieved its aims in Brussels. The European Council supported the detailed conclusions on which the Foreign Ministers had reached agreement on 22 October.
A basis has thus been secured for further negotiations with Russia. The EU’s policy is clear. We want to find a solution that takes into account Russia’s problems, but at the same time respects the sovereignty of Lithuania and the rules of the Schengen cooperation.
The European Parliament and the Presidency have a joint project. We share the same vision; we are working towards a common objective. Enlargement of the EU is the greatest political task of our generation. It is a challenge and an opportunity which extends beyond our own time. For better or for worse, enlargement is rooted in our common history and will be of crucial importance for the lives and opportunities of our descendants. Enlargement of the European Union marks the end of the European tragedy of the twentieth century and is the gateway to a common future in which our people are able to live in freedom, peace and prosperity.
Obviously, enlargement was the main topic in Brussels. For the Presidency, it was crucial to get the frameworks in place for further negotiations with the candidate countries. We made it very clear to everybody that it was now – and not in December – that the decisions were to be taken and we focused the agenda on the central issues. These were among the reasons why we were able to make the necessary decisions. I will not go through the conclusions of the summit in detail here. The conclusions are brief and clear and speak for themselves, but I would like to highlight the major decisions.
The European Council approved the Commission’s recommendations on the choice of countries. Ten countries – Cyprus, the Czech Republic Estonia, Hungary Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – will be able to conclude negotiations at the end of the year.
Where Bulgaria and Romania are concerned, we decided to support these two countries in their efforts to achieve their aim of accession in 2007. The Copenhagen Summit will make practical decisions on how we strengthen their preparations for accession. The message to Bulgaria and Romania is clear: enlargement will continue and the EU is open to European countries wishing to join which meet the requirements for membership.
We also sent a clear signal to Turkey. The European Council is pleased with the progress that Turkey has made towards meeting the political Copenhagen criterion.
We call upon Turkey to continue its process of reform – not least in the form of actual implementation of the reforms adopted. We will make new decisions on Turkey at the Copenhagen Summit.
In connection with the choice of countries, we discussed issues of monitoring and safeguard clauses. In this area too, the European Council supported the Commission’s proposal, with one simple adjustment: we extended the period for which the special provisions will apply from two to three years.
The European Council also made decisions on the final outstanding institutional issues, concerning the necessary adjustments in the light of the transition from 15 to hopefully 25 Member States. The Heads of State and Government accepted the compromise already achieved by the Presidency at the meeting of Foreign Ministers on 22 October. This established a clear negotiating basis for the Presidency in relation to the candidate countries in this area as well.
The most difficult issue on the agenda of the Brussels Summit was the outstanding financial issues. However, we succeeded in obtaining a result. We made three crucial decisions.
The history of Europe has been haunted by wars, crises and human catastrophe. Yet Europe and our European culture are also characterised by a unique capacity to rise up again, to recover and both to rediscover and redefine their values and aims.
With regard to direct agricultural subsidies, the European Council supported the Commission’s proposal: phasing in to commence in 2004 at 25% and to be 100% completed in 2013. The phasing in will take place within a framework of financial stability. A promise is being made regarding total annual expenditure on common organisations of the market and direct subsidies in an EU with 25 Member States. This expenditure must not exceed the level for 2006 plus 1% per year, which means that if inflation exceeds 1% there will be a real fall in agricultural expenditure.
We also reached agreement on the total level of funding for structural fund initiatives in the new Member States. The figure is EUR 23 000 million in the period 2004 to 2006, which is slightly lower than the Commission’s proposal of just over EUR 25 000 million.
Thirdly, the issue of budgetary compensation was settled. I consider it of great importance that we succeeded in establishing that no new Member State must find itself in a worse position during the period from 2004 to 2006 than was the case in 2003. This is an important and correct signal to the candidate countries.
These were the main points of the European Council and, in conclusion, I would just like to mention that the European Council also met with the president of the Convention on the Future of the EU, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. He reported on the work of the Convention and we will meet with the Convention’s president again at the Copenhagen Summit.
‘From Copenhagen to Copenhagen’ – that is the motto of the Danish Presidency. It expresses a vision of contributing to a project and a process that are of a unique character, and it also expresses a very practical ambition to get some of the work that has been placed in our hands concluded.
The Brussels Summit took us a crucial step closer to Copenhagen, while at the same time marking the final stop before the Copenhagen Summit.
What, then, is to be found on the road from Brussels to Copenhagen? What lies ahead of us in the coming weeks? The answer is: hard work. Hard work and enduring intense negotiations.
We are already in full swing. On 28 October I met the Heads of State and Government of the candidate countries to give them a personal and direct account of the Brussels Summit and as early as the following day discussions with government officials began.
The European Council’s decisions in Brussels have created a basis for further negotiations. It is clear, however, that if we are to achieve a result on time great efforts are needed, along with a willingness to compromise on the part of everyone involved, both Member States and candidate countries.
The European Parliament and the Commission have consistently been strong driving forces in the process of enlargement. On behalf of the Danish Presidency I would like once again to thank the European Parliament and the Commission for the sound cooperation and call upon us all to join forces in the weeks ahead too in order to achieve our common aim – to conclude the first round of enlargement negotiations in Copenhagen in December. In this connection, I am very much looking forward to participating in the great enlargement debate here in Parliament in two weeks’ time on 19 November.
The twentieth century was a catastrophe for Europe. Two terrible world wars tore our Continent apart. The Armageddon of the Second World War was followed by over forty years of communist dictatorship in Central and Eastern Europe. For almost half a century we lived with an artificial division of Europe.
I hope that we here in the Community can send a strong message to the people and governments of Europe that the time has come to conclude ten years’ work, that the time has come to open the gates to our common future and that the time has come to make the crucial decision on enlargement.
Before the First World War, our continent was characterised by optimism, self-confidence and faith in the future. These values were drowned out by the thunder of guns in August 1914 and trampled to death in the trenches of the World War. We have never really recovered the optimism and faith in the future that characterised the first years of the twentieth century.
Enlargement of the EU marks the beginning of a new epoch in European history. Enlargement can instil into Europe a dynamism and strength; it can create the basis for a new European consciousness. Enlargement is the key to the future of Europe.
After ninety years – from 1914 to 2004 – we can finally close one of the most bloody and dark chapters in the history of Europe. That is an inspiring task, and a responsibility that puts us under an obligation.
In the light of this, I would like to thank the European Parliament for its enduring and unqualified support for the enlargement project. This support was most recently expressed during the negotiations at the plenary session on 23 October and was expressed in strong terms by the President of the European Parliament to the European Council at the Brussels Summit. On behalf of the Presidency, I would like to express my thanks for this clear and strong message from Parliament.
It is also in view of this that I am pleased to be able to report to you all here today that at the Brussels Summit the European Council confirmed the Member States’ full support of enlargement. We made a number of crucial decisions. These mean that the first round of enlargement negotiations can be concluded in Copenhagen in December. I must emphasise, however, that enlargement is far from secure yet. We still have a huge task ahead of us and limited time available. We are negotiating with 27 countries in total and we have 37 days in which to achieve a result – nothing can be taken for granted."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples