Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-02-10-Speech-3-015"
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"en.20100210.8.3-015"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I am delighted that my very first official engagement since taking up office just some hours ago is here in the European Parliament. I also think that it is an excellent turn of events that the very first debate in this high House with a new Commission is taking place on enlargement. Thirdly, I am delighted that the European Parliament expressed its strong support for enlargement in three reports.
On Turkey, I would like to thank your rapporteur, Ms Oomen-Ruijten, for her continued efforts towards a fair and balanced approach in her report on Turkey. The Commission remains committed to the accession process with Turkey as this process gives strong encouragement to political and economic reform.
Work on the political criteria remains of the utmost importance, in particular, as regards fundamental freedoms. A number of landmark reforms have been carried out in the past year. Some of them were next to impossible only a few years ago. Last week, the security protocol that allowed the army to intervene without authorisation in the case of security threats was annulled. This is a landmark achievement in civilian-military relations. We will observe closely the follow-up of this conciliation. The submission of a draft law setting up an independent human rights institution and the much awaited anti-corruption strategy, adopted in principle by the Turkish Government on 21 January, are also promising.
We continue to support the democratic opening launched by the government. The success of this initiative requires the participation and support of all political parties and all segments of society. However, the Commission has concerns following the decision of the Constitutional Court to close the pro-Kurdish party represented in Parliament, the DTP. We also regret the arrests that took place in the south-east at the end of December. We condemn the terrorist attacks that took place at the same time. None of these developments is really conducive to the successful implementation of the democratic opening.
The resolutions are proof of the commitment of the European Parliament to the accession prospects of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. This is a clear signal that enlargement will continue to be a top priority of the European Parliament and, together with my colleagues, I will do my utmost to bring this success story forward. I am very glad that my friend, Secretary of State López Garrido, has just reconfirmed full support for this process on behalf of the Council and its Presidency.
On Croatia, I appreciate Parliament’s fair and balanced report and would like to congratulate Mr Hannes Swoboda, the rapporteur. The report highlights the progress achieved by Croatia in meeting the criteria for accession but, at the same time, recognises the efforts that are still necessary for concluding the negotiations. Your report thus reinforces the messages and supports the work undertaken by the Commission. Let me underline that closure of negotiations in 2010 is still possible, provided that Croatia progresses in fulfilling all outstanding benchmarks. The ball is clearly in Croatia’s court.
Croatia has come a long way over recent years but important challenges still remain to be tackled. Here, we share a common assessment. Croatia needs to focus, in particular, on the further reform of its judiciary and public administration, the fight against corruption and organised crime, respect for minority rights including refugee return, as well as war crimes trials and full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
We are encouraged by recent developments in fighting corruption. We hope that investigation into wrongdoing leads to concrete results. As for cooperation with the ICTY, which is a fundamental requirement, Chief Prosecutor Brammertz confirmed that full cooperation has still not been achieved. However, he acknowledged recent positive steps such as the setting up of the task force aimed at stepping up investigation efforts. I hope that the work of the task force will soon produce concrete results. Finally, the arbitration agreement of November 2009 between Slovenia and Croatia on the handling of the bilateral border issue has started a new momentum in the negotiations process which, I trust, Croatia will be able to seize by intensifying its efforts to address the remaining outstanding issues.
As regards the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 2009 was a good year as regards its reform process. Thanks to political consensus between all the main political forces, the country was able to make significant progress in key areas. It achieved visa liberalisation, and the Commission could recommend starting accession negotiations. I am glad to see that there is a strong consensus between Parliament and the Commission that accession negotiations should start, as expressed in Mr Thaler’s constructive and forward-looking report. Now the challenge for the country is to maintain the reform momentum.
While the country met the political criteria, there is still much work to be done. A shared vision of the future and effective political dialogue between the political forces will be crucial to ensuring progress. Continued efforts are needed in particular on fully implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement and improving inter-ethnic relations, ensuring the rule of law and an independent judiciary, and successfully prosecuting high-level corruption cases.
The economic crisis has not left the country untouched. Unfortunately, the country was already suffering one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. Now, more than ever, prudent macro-economic management and active labour market measures are needed to contain, and then reduce unemployment.
Like you, I am convinced that the start of accession negotiations is key to maintaining the reform momentum in the country. Equally important, it will enhance the European perspective for the wider region. It is therefore in the strategic interest of the European Union. This is the message which I will be putting forward to the Member States and to the country so as to take the process forward."@en1
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