Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-03-Speech-3-086"
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"en.20080903.17.3-086"2
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"− Bienvenido al Parlamento Europeo, Presidente Arias! President of the Republic of Costa Rica, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the European Parliament, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you, President Arias.
President Aria, let me say, in conclusion, that we believe that you and your country will continue to play a crucial role in bringing these negotiations to a successful conclusion.
On behalf of all the Members of the European Parliament, I would like to welcome you again. I hope that your visit will give us the opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship between Europe, Costa Rica and Latin America.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to add something a little ‘off the record’: it is wonderful that the President of Costa Rica is here; and it is a very nice coincidence – by way of exception, I am allowed to mention somebody’s age today – that the Member of the European Commission responsible for external policy, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner, is celebrating her 60th birthday today. That is another happy occasion, and good reason to wish her many happy returns of the day.
Your visit is a milestone in relations between the European Parliament, the European Union, Costa Rica and Latin America.
Dr Óscar Arias, you have been President of Costa Rica already, from 1986 to 1990, and in 2006 you were re-elected for a four-year term. You are best known as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to you in 1987 to acknowledge the enormous efforts you have made in the quest for paths to peace in Central America.
President Arias’s efforts in his role as an international broker came to fruition in the Esquipulas Peace Agreement, which was signed by the presidents of all Central American countries on 7 August 1987. The European Union supported these efforts wholeheartedly.
The President of Costa Rica is therefore a role model for people throughout the world. He once said it was vital to have values, principles and ideals and to fight for them. President Arias, you have been committed to this for many years and the citizens of Costa Rica honoured the results of that work by re-electing you two years ago.
In my speech at the 5th EU-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) summit meeting in Lima, Peru, which took place in May this year, I emphasised the foundational significance of regional integration for the 21st century. As Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the European Union, expressed it so succinctly, it is a case of ‘building union among people, not cooperation between states’. President Aria, you too have subscribed to this ideal and worked actively to achieve it.
From the point of view of the European Parliament, it is desirable to conclude an association agreement between Central America and the European Union in the near future – and I said so in Lima as well – and I would like to add, as we discussed in detail in our meeting just now: whenever war breaks out somewhere, vast amounts of money are made available in dollars or euros or whichever currency, but when support is required to establish peaceful relations, then countries argue about far smaller amounts of money. We must give peace a chance!
That is our message today to the other European institutions."@en1
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