Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-19-Speech-2-093"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20021119.2.2-093"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, twelve years ago, the extraordinary event symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall, which separated two political blocs, but which also divided a people, to some extent represented a pioneering step in the process of European enlargement towards Central and Eastern Europe.
It was following this reunification that the European Council, meeting in Copenhagen, in 1993, decided to integrate into the European Union the associated States of Central and Eastern Europe that wished to join. The Copenhagen European Council made it clear that the accession of these countries would depend on their fulfilment of the obligations inherent in their participation in the Union. We are all familiar with these obligations, which are known as the Copenhagen criteria, and so there is no need, in this context, to make specific mention of them. In addition to German reunification, we cannot ignore two other political events that, although lacking the same symbolic power, have taken on particular importance in the development of the next steps in this process of European reunification.
I am referring, first of all, to the Nice Summit, at which the European Heads of State and Government undertook to reform the Community institutions, in the aim of ensuring that these are adapted to a Europe that is enlarged by a further twelve countries. We are all aware that failure in this area would leave the process of enlargement compromised for many years to come. Whatever opinion we may have about the institutional solutions that were reached, the fact is that since Nice the candidate countries have at least been aware of their relative positions in the Union and of what they can expect in the future.
Secondly, I am referring to the Gothenburg Summit, which brought the Swedish Presidency to a close. In their conclusions, Europe’s leaders categorically asserted that the process of enlargement was irreversible, having for the first time set a deadline – the end of 2002 – for closing negotiations with the candidate countries that are ready at that time, with the stated aim of these countries being able to participate as Members in the 2004 elections to the European Parliament.
Today, as 2002 draws to a close and with the European Parliament having met this morning for the first time in plenary sitting with the representatives of all the candidate countries, our duty, and also our desire, is to applaud the extraordinary efforts that these countries have made to adapt their political, economic, social and judicial structures to the model of the European Union, efforts which, above all, have made this moment a victory that belongs to them and which must be acknowledged.
As one Hungarian Member stated this morning, we can only regret the fact that the Communist dictatorship that subjugated these countries for more than forty years prevented them from participating in the marvellous adventure of European integration from the very beginning. These words do not suggest, however, a lack of awareness of the fact that the Union is an undertaking that involves risk and that, with enlargement, this risk increases through the bringing together of two worlds that, unfortunately, are at highly disparate stages of development, that will accentuate the differences between the richer regions and the less prosperous ones and will increase the proportion of the population living in the least-favoured regions.
It is, therefore, to be expected that questions are raised and that fears are expressed, for example, with regard to regional cohesion policies being less effective or with regard to difficulties of funding structural policies in the economic and social spheres. It is this Europe, however, so full of challenges and difficulties, whose recent history has accelerated to the speed of light and which has seen all its balances change in a little over half a dozen years, that has separated the strong from the weak and the winners from the timid and those resigned to their fate.
Mr President, one of the countries that has distinguished itself in its efforts to fall into line with the European Union, in the aim of joining it, is Hungary, whose progress and current situation I have sought to monitor as rapporteur for this Parliament. As expected, the Commission’s last periodic report on Hungary concluded that, given the progress made by the date of its publication, this country would be in a position to conclude negotiations by the end of the year and to assume the obligations arising from accession in accordance with the timetable that had been set. This comes as no surprise. Hungary has always been one of the leading candidate countries with regard to the dynamic of negotiations and its achievements, specifically in the economic field, have been hailed as amongst the best in the region. The Hungarian economy still has one of the best performances in the region, and is characterised by one of the highest growth rates in Europe, the lowest rate of inflation seen in the last ten years, a relatively low unemployment rate, and a steady increase in trade with the European Union.
In the resolutions adopted in the last two years, Parliament has drafted a number of recommendations, specifically intended to encourage the pursuit of reforms in the field of integrating the Roma minority, to strengthen social dialogue and to adopt a media law, or even with regard to observing the rules that govern the public markets. Today, we can say that progress has been made in these as in many other fields and that the efforts made by the Hungarian authorities have been consistent. To conclude, I only wish to say that Hungary is in a good position to join the European Union in 2004, although it must continue to pursue its preparations in line with the commitments it has given throughout the negotiations, and that we hope to have Hungary with us in the next legislature of this Parliament, with the same parliamentary representation enjoyed by the current Members States with an equivalent population."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples