Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-29-Speech-3-090"
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"en.20061129.14.3-090"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, on 26 September of this year, the European Commission presented its report on Romania’s progress towards accession. It is now for Parliament to give its opinion. This is an important moment, as we are coming to the end of a process that will see the conclusion of the latest wave of enlargement. It is not the beginning of the next wave but, in reality, the end of the fifth wave. It is a time of great historic significance since it signals the reunification of the European continent.
Here, then, are the fruits of work that I have been doing for only two years – a period shorter than that of Mr Van Orden’s involvement – and that had, moreover, been begun by others, notably by Mrs Nicholson, who preceded me as rapporteur. I am submitting the results of this work to you with some satisfaction because, in essence, I have always championed the same position over the last few years. We have a common destiny. Romania’s and Bulgaria’s place is in the European Union. We have to move forward. We needed, therefore, to be sympathetic, but firm.
I believe that Parliament’s position, which closely resembles that of the Commission, was the right one to adopt because it has allowed the necessary reforms to be carried out and because, at the same time, it enables our common objective to be realised, namely the accession of Romania and Bulgaria on the date specified. I think that we must welcome this event as one more staging post on the way to the reunification of Europe. I hope that the consensus for which we have all worked will be reflected in an unambiguous vote by Parliament. I should like the message received by Romania tomorrow to be a positive one, delivered loudly and clearly and, if possible, by a substantial number of people, whereupon Romania should receive a warm and sincere welcome.
I should like, in particular, to take this opportunity to thank the Commission and, firstly, Commissioner Rehn who, throughout this process, has done some very painstaking and very rigorous work and with whom we have enjoyed smooth and excellent cooperation during the last two years. Moreover, my report does not neglect to congratulate him. I would also thank most sincerely all those fellow Members who have significantly helped improve and supplement my previous reports. I would thank, in particular, my colleagues not only in the Committee on Foreign Affairs but also in other bodies of this Parliament for their often pertinent comments and suggestions.
This report is in the spirit of the previous reports since it is couched in terms that are meant to be positive, encouraging and open while remaining, I hope, tough, yet balanced. It also follows closely the conclusions of the Commission in its report of September 2006. As I see it, matters are clear. Romania was not ready in 2004. Since then, it has made considerable efforts, putting in place an impressive series of modernising reforms. It was important to emphasise this, and I wish to follow Mr Van Orden’s lead by, in turn, warmly welcoming Romania, as he, for his part, welcomed Bulgaria.
In essence, this is a short report that focuses on two points in particular: the accession date and the support and verification measures envisaged by the Commission. The report is structured around six main issues. First of all, the report pays tribute to the Romanian authorities for the considerable progress they have made since the beginning of the process. Everyone agrees that the efforts at reform engaged in by the Romanian Government and authorities have been extremely significant. It was therefore necessary to underline this in our resolution.
In September of this year, the Commission went on to recommend that Romania join the European Union on 1 January 2007. My report supports this conclusion, for which I had, moreover, been hoping and praying for some time. The wording also emphasises that, in the areas identified as problematic by the Commission’s May report, substantial progress has been made. It also notes that three areas were identified by the Commission in September as ones in which additional progress needed to be made. These were reform of the justice system, the fight against corruption and – to a lesser extent, I think – the absorption of Union aid in the agricultural sector and from the Structural Funds and the application of the
in certain areas of food safety.
Fifthly, my report supports the Commission’s proposal to introduce mechanisms to verify and support progress in these areas on the basis of a list of identified objectives. Such measures were applied during the previous enlargement, and this for the benefit of all the parties. It is not, therefore, a question of stigmatising or isolating Romania but, rather, of supporting it in its efforts to consolidate the reforms under way.
Sixthly and lastly, my report urges the Romanian Government to take all the measures necessary and to make full use of the time remaining before accession so that recourse to the safeguard clauses might be avoided.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the general structure of the report. Only five amendments have been tabled for plenary, reflecting, I believe, the broad consensus that has emerged in relation to this document – a consensus we sought within the various committees.
I now turn to some of the positions adopted by my group. My group will not be advising Members to vote in favour of Amendments 1 and 2 by Mrs Gibault and Mr Cavada. These amendments do, however, reflect a statement signed by more than 400 Members, including myself. On a personal basis, I shall, therefore, vote in favour of them, but my group’s position will be expressed through a free vote. My group will support Amendment 5 by the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left on the efforts made by Romania towards accession and will vote against the same group’s Amendment 4, which is already covered by the report. Where Amendment 3 is concerned, my group will abstain."@en1
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