Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-06-Speech-3-023"
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"en.20060906.4.3-023"2
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"Mr President, three minutes is a wonderfully long time. I would like to make three points. My first is that prolonging the negotiations will not bring any change to the fundamental differences between Serbia and Kosovo. One of them is in favour of autonomy, the other is in favour of independence. Therefore I feel very strongly that we should stick to the timetable and time limits envisaged by the contact group and have the issue settled by the end of the Finnish Presidency at the end of 2006. We must stay firm on this.
The second point I wanted to make is that, much like Mr Posselt, I see no option other than independence, with some limitations on Kosovo’s sovereignty, of course. It is important, in order to maintain stability in the region, that there is an international presence and most certainly that the European Union is ready to maintain a significant presence for some time.
The third point I wanted to make is that I think the Western Balkans by and large are a painful reminder of the weaknesses of our common foreign and security policy. I do not think we should repeat the mistakes of the past, and in that sense we must stand very firm in supporting the UN Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, whom I feel is doing an excellent job. I think that the EU’s best foreign policy is usually enlargement policy, and that is why it is very important to keep the prospect of enlargement alive for Kosovo and in the Western Balkans in general.
As a final point, I would like to make the observation that in 1999 the Finnish Presidency interestingly started with the then President, Martti Ahtisaari, negotiating peace in Kosovo and the Western Balkans. I certainly hope that the Finnish Presidency in 2006 will end with a final settlement on the Kosovo issue and with independence for Kosovo."@en1
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