Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-176"

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"en.20031119.7.3-176"2
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"Mr President, I think that the Commission communication touches on a very interesting issue and that Mrs Napoletano's report also has very good ideas and proposals. Nonetheless, there is a general question which I think has also been touched on by other Members. Can we reduce all the countries which surround us to the east and south to a common denominator? Can we take the same approach to Russia, which is a major world power, as we take to countries such as Moldova, Armenia, Georgia or Azerbaijan, or as we take to the countries of northern Africa where, possibly, the main question we should raise is that of democratisation? It is a serious question, just as the question of where Europe stops is a serious question. Because I think Mr Verheugen was right to point out that, if we put the Western Balkans and Turkey in this category, these countries will obviously feel undervalued. But I see that, in the proposal made by the Commissioner for external relations on the Ukraine, we are discussing the possibility of its future integration. Why not Armenia? Why not Georgia? And why not even Russia, which is also in the area of the European Union and some governments have proposed as much? That is why I fear this uniformity. I think that we should find some common rules but, more importantly, that we should formulate global policies for the large entities around us. I repeat that the countries of north Africa need to make a special effort on issues of democracy. We have tolerated the violation of democracy and we have often supported it – remember events in Algeria and Egypt – due to our own strategic objectives and due to the wish for there to be stable regimes, whatever they may be. As regards Egypt in particular, I want to say that there are a great many European citizens shut up in its gaols today and who are paying this price with their lives. So I believe that we need to launch the issue of democracy for these countries."@en1

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