Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-332"
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"en.20071024.39.3-332"2
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"Mr President, the report by Mr Kacin marks a turning point in the attitude of the European Parliament. For a very long time, the European Parliament one-sidedly rewarded the Albanians and punished the Serbs in every statement it made on Kosovo. Here at last we have a credible, objective picture of Serbia, and the reason why this is crucial is because we must ensure that Serbia is no longer given the role of punchbag or scapegoat. This does not mean, however, that the Serbs will not some day have to come to terms with the crimes of the Milošević era, just as the Kosovo Albanians, and every people, must come to terms with their historical crimes.
It is good and proper that we are drawing Serbia closer to the European Union, and I agree that visa facilitation is not enough; we should establish a visa-free regime for Serbia’s citizens, and it is at least as important to speed up the process of granting Serbia candidate status. Here we have Kosovo, which presents a huge risk; according to Council of Europe intelligence estimates, around 100 000 refugees, Serb refugees, are expected to leave Kosovo, and it will be largely Vojvodina that has to deal with this situation.
Thanks are due for the fact that Mr Kacin’s proposed amendments give an objective picture of the inter-ethnic processes in Vojvodina, of the atrocities that still persist, and of the need to legislate on the legal status of the National Councils, the need for proportional representation of minorities in the police force and the judicial system, and the need to maintain minority radio broadcasting and funding for it. All in all, I congratulate Mr Kacin: drawing Serbia closer to the European Union is an important step. Thank you for your attention."@en1
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