Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-11-23-Speech-2-114"
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"en.20101123.29.2-114"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, honoured guests and friends. I would like to extend a warm welcome to the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.
This is not President Saakashvili’s first visit to the European Parliament. He was with us four years ago, and he was also in Brussels in 2004, just after being elected President of Georgia. Today is a special day – today, 23 November, is the seventh anniversary of the Rose Revolution, the bloodless watershed which brought change to the situation not only in Georgia but the whole region of the South Caucasus. Mr President, for almost 60 years, the European Union has been moving in the direction which Georgia has now also chosen – that of lasting peace, welfare and unthreatened liberty. President Saakashvili received his initial education in Kiev. He then studied at European and American universities, and has always been associated with Strasbourg – he studied here, has received honours here and it was also here, as far as I know, that he met his future wife. So it is a special place for Mr Saakashvili.
The last seven years have not been easy for Georgia. Georgia’s territorial integrity has been violated. I would like to recall that in May this year, we adopted a resolution calling on Russia to respect the conditions of the ceasefire and to withdraw its forces from Georgian territory.
Four years ago, Mr Saakashvili said in this Chamber that Georgians are not only one of the oldest nations of Europe, but that they are also intensely interested in European integration. They regard this as the kind of approach to international affairs which they prefer. I am sure this enthusiasm is no less today than four years ago. We, here in the European Parliament and the European Union, attach great importance to democratisation. The standards of democratisation and democracy are very high, and the standards of the free market are also high. Human rights, the rule of law and freedom of the press all require reforms – reforms of the constitutional system, electoral law and the justice system. A moment ago, I was talking about these matters with the President of Georgia, and we agreed that it is not an easy process, but that it is essential if we are to be similar to each other and if we are to work more easily with each other.
I am pleased, too, that Georgia has quickly overcome the economic crisis. The European Union also played a part in this – we extended a helping hand. Today, Georgia is again at a stage of rapid economic growth. We in the European Union are keen that Georgia should be stable and that it should develop well, but we are also keen for this to happen in the entire region of the South Caucasus. Georgia could be the perfect model of transition to a democratic and free market system, full of protection for human rights and the operation of the rule of law. This is why what Mr Saakashvili has to propose to us and to say, today, is so important. We are glad you are with us, and we would like to ask you to speak. The floor is yours, Mr President."@en1
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