Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-25-Speech-2-141"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20051025.20.2-141"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I really am very glad indeed that we are able to have this first debate on this subject with our observers present. I think that is quite tremendous.
I might add that I believe we should be holding this debate in Brussels rather than in Strasbourg.
I would like to join in thanking the Commission for the outstanding work it has done. My group joins with the others in welcoming the choice of procedure, which involves – as Mr Moscovici has just said – the consultation of Parliament on the recommendation next spring.
There are a few things I would like to say about Bulgaria. As the country has come through an election and the formation of a government, it is not surprising that the latest progress report by the Commission takes a more critical line than its predecessors. For that reason, I want to start by saying that, while my group supports Bulgaria as it moves towards becoming a Member State of the European Union, we do expect the necessary reforms to be carried out with more discipline and purposefulness than they were last year. Results matter, for it is on the basis of the results achieved that the national parliaments will evaluate the accession treaties.
Bulgaria has made progress to an enormous degree. In terms of economic performance, the country is definitely in the overtaking lane. Its dynamism and 6.2% growth rate – the sort of growth I wish my own country could produce – gives confidence to the foreign investors who are discovering Bulgaria as a place in which to put their money. Bulgaria owes its considerable economic success mainly to the previous government’s far-sighted policies. The fact is, though, that the finest of roses are invisible if they are obscured by weeds. The successes that have been achieved cannot make their impact felt when corruption is unchecked, the law is unstable, and long overdue reforms are not carried out.
So let us consider the justice system. On 15 October, the Bulgarian parliament passed a new Code of Criminal Procedure; while this is an important step in the right direction, it is one that has taken too long. The reforms must now be put into practice without delay.
Moving on to corruption and the fight against it, one has to acknowledge that progress has been made in combating small-scale corruption. What is now vital is that attention should be focussed on corruption in the upper echelons of politics, business and the administration, and that there should be a sustained campaign against it. Paradoxically enough, the fact that Bulgaria is at number 55 on Transparency International’s Index seems, at first sight, to be a poor performance, but then one notes that Turkey is placed at number 65, Croatia at 70 and Romania at 85, so Bulgaria has already achieved a certain amount on this front.
Let me make it perfectly clear that neither the Commission – I am sure of that, Commissioner – nor this House expect Bulgaria to produce miracles. Everyone present in this Chamber is well aware that progress demands painful reforms and cannot be achieved overnight. What we want is for the Bulgarian Government to make progress where it is in its power to do so.
That brings me to consider policy in relation to minorities, something that my group regards as particularly important. To this day, the Bulgarian authorities have not succeeded in finding the 15 experts of which the National Council for Co-Operation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues is meant to consist, and that does not augur well for the prospect of integrating the Roma into Bulgarian society. Precisely how the framework programme for this purpose is to be implemented remains vague and unclear. Paper is patient, but we are not; a lack of ambition is not something that Bulgaria can afford at this decisive point in its history.
Let me conclude by saying that the Commission’s, and my group’s, critical observations are not intended to discourage the Bulgarian Government – on the contrary, they should be understood as an encouragement to go down the last stretch on the way towards accession with the sense of purpose and earnestness that this demands."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples