Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-16-Speech-2-229"

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"Mr President, I am pleased with the Commission’s proposal because it does justice to Bulgaria’s and Romania’s efforts and also to the concerns about lasting problem areas, the existence of which, by the way, nobody denies. To previous speakers, including Mr Cohn-Bendit, I should like to say that as far as I am concerned, this proposal is a shot in the arm for the reformers and thus a source of frustration for criminals, corrupt folk and xenophobes. Maybe Mr Cohn-Bendit ought to consider to whom he actually wishes to give his support. The notion that reforms will end as soon as those countries accede is nonsense. That notion was already mentioned during the previous enlargement and was disproved in the end. Moreover, reforms are first and foremost carried out by the people for the sake of improving the quality of life and not just for the sake of joining the European Union. It is, of course, also true that we must, as a matter of urgency, have an instrument by means of which we can tick off all EU Members, including current EU Members, if they fail to adhere to the rules, also where fundamental rights are concerned. I should like to argue in favour of long-term vision, for we all know that this is not the end where reforms are concerned. Corruption, crime, discrimination against minorities, and suchlike must all be tackled, also in future. One day, Bulgaria and Romania may well lead from the front in the European Union, just as they also demonstrated that economically, they are capable of much more and much greater willingness to reform than us in Western Europe. Who knows, one day, they might be the champions of fundamental rights and rule of law and may well adopt a leading role in the European Union. Finally, I should like to urge all Members in their own countries, to give the full account, rather than populist talk that is based on xenophobia. I will welcome Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007."@en1

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