Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-25-Speech-2-172"
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"en.20051025.20.2-172"2
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"Mr President, I wish to thank Commissioner Rehn for a well-balanced report. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the debate on enlargement is always balanced. Those who wish to put the brakes on enlargement talk about the danger of accepting poor countries and about the referenda on the EU Treaty having changed the mood in the EU which, they say, has become chillier. They say that the referenda were really not about the Treaty itself but about other matters. That is true, moreover. They were about other matters because we European political leaders did not show enough political leadership and because we did not manage to explain that it really was the Treaty, and nothing else, that the referenda were really about.
Let us now make sure that we do not make the same mistake. Let us ensure that the current debate about Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU really is about that alone and not about anything else. We must show that we have visions and plans regarding enlargement. Enlargement is not about aimlessly accepting new Members whenever we want and whenever public opinion in our countries allows us to. Enlargement is about democracy and freedom in Europe but, above all, about European security, something I am surprised no one mentioned today.
To see Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession to the EU as an isolated phenomenon would be a mistake because many challenges await us over the next few years, such as the debate on Kosovo’s status, the referendum, Montenegro’s independence, continued discussions with Bosnia and Serbia and Macedonia’s application for membership. To postpone Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession unless it is absolutely necessary to do so would be a mistake in this very uncertain situation where the politics of security are concerned.
No one, either in this Chamber or in Romania and Bulgaria, believes that we should accept any country unless it fulfils the criteria, but nor should we disqualify any country in advance. If it is the case that, following the referenda, Europe has become chillier, it is our task to warm it up. If Europe has become more selfish and closed in on itself, it is our duty to make it more generous and open. That is what differentiates those who represent public opinion from those who create it. That is what makes us European political leaders who accept our responsibility."@en1
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