Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2015-07-08-Speech-3-416-000"
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"en.20150708.30.3-416-000"2
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"Mr President, announcing the review of neighbourhood policy, High Representative/Vice-President Mogherini said ‘our region is in flames’. In this debate, we are saying that we must not only continue trying to extinguish the flames, but we must also be better at stopping the fire from starting in the first place.
It is true to say that, in the past, Europe has too often made the assumption that there would be steady, if sometimes slow, trends towards modernisation, reform and democratic development in our neighbourhood. But what we have seen, whether in Ukraine or in the stalled Arab uprisings, are sudden shocks and reverses which require Europe’s neighbourhood policy to have a much greater emphasis on and capacity for fast—moving political intervention and diplomacy. We also recognise that five of the six eastern partners are now confronted with unresolved or frozen conflicts, which require such intervention too.
I support some of the principles emerging from the review. For countries which themselves choose to come closer to the EU – Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Tunisia and Morocco – yes, let us intensify our relations in a more differentiated approach, recognising the challenges that they still face. We say we want more people-to-people contact, more public diplomacy and more civil society dialogue. Frankly, we also need a sea change to massively increase this element of the policy compared to the past.
‘More for more’ is a good policy which should be maintained, but let us recognise that the incentives which we offered were insufficient. And, as we have just heard, the revised policy must also address the challenge of ‘less for less’. We need to be self-aware when we say at the same time that we want more partnership and local ownership but also that we want a better, more focused, defence of European interests and values.
But I do have some fears that the journey from Vilnius to Riga means that this review is actually cover for reducing the ambition behind our European Neighbourhood Policy, and that so-called enlargement fatigue means there is a retrenchment of membership prospects for the countries in our neighbourhood. Both of these dangers must be resisted.
So often I hear colleagues in this Chamber advocate a strong European common foreign and security policy, with Europe as a global player. The truth is that there can never be true respect for Europe’s global role if we cannot play a more dynamic and effective role in dealing with the problems of our very own neighbourhood. That is an argument for a more ambitious neighbourhood policy. Commissioner, you will have our support if this is the choice you make.
Finally, we have let down those brave protesters on the Maidan. There are people in that country, and across the neighbourhood, who look to us in Europe. We should have the same high expectations of ourselves as those people have of us."@en1
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