Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-16-Speech-3-196"
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"en.20090916.17.3-196"2
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"Madam President, Mrs Malmström, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we were all delighted about the proposed liberalisation of visas. We have already been fighting for this in this Parliament for a long time and now a start has been made. That is not enough for us. I think that the wrong wording was chosen in June. Today – as we have heard – there are still problems in Serbia and in Montenegro. So why did we not include Albania and Bosnia in this wording and say, here too there are problems that need to be overcome? That would not have caused too much damage.
It is, of course, a fact that the politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina have little interest in improving what is, from every point of view, the awkward situation of their fellow countrymen. Why should they? They have a job, they can travel, they waste their time with useless nationalistic conflicts, instead, for example, of working for a good school system, for a good infrastructure, for a good health system, nor have they ensured that the benchmarks for visa liberalisation are in place. Visa liberalisation would bring a breath of fresh air at long last to this nationalistic fug in Bosnia and Herzegovina and finally give the young generation hope.
However, since the announcement of the Commission’s evaluation, measures have been taken in Bosnia and Herzegovina to combat corruption and a number of important laws have been set in motion, so that the technical preconditions can be met in autumn. However, it is not just a question of technical preconditions; it is also a question of the political aspect of things. There is the question of the biometric passports; I know that not many have yet been issued and I would sincerely call on the Commission and some of the Member States to help issue these biometric passports. Technical assistance means a great deal.
The Council, the Commission and local politicians must really make every effort to stop the ethnic divide in this country from widening further still. A refusal to liberalise visas for Bosnia and Herzegovina would ghettoise the Muslims, as the Croats and Serbs have a way out of this country. The Bosnian passport – normally a passport is unmistakable proof of a nation – will be worthless in the eyes of its holders if it does not open the door to the EU.
I would ask the Commission and the Council to help these countries. Albania will manage. They have a new government; they will manage, but Kosovo will only manage if you all help. You have our support. You do not need to turn a blind eye, but you should set political standards, not just police standards."@en1
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