Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-02-Speech-3-131"
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"en.20010502.9.3-131"2
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"Mr President, until it is proved otherwise, we are still free to say what we want, we are still a democracy. You may have a different view of democracy, but everyone can say what they feel needs to be said.
I was just getting to the point, Mr President. Thanks to Mr Swoboda and his initiative and the cooperation of some of the Members, we have, at last, recouped the time lost, and I am extremely grateful to Mr Swoboda for that. At last, we have an agreement. We are all aware – every now and again I agree with Mr Wurtz – that what is needed is to start to think about the real issue, which is that of accession, for we cannot continue to have different categories for candidate countries and countries which cannot be candidates.
With regard to the issue of Macedonia, a few weeks ago, when the High Representative, Mr Solana, returned, I think we all had some hope of seeing an improvement in the situation. The recent events mentioned by Mr Volcic are, however, evidence that the situation is anything but under control: indeed, what has happened – the fact that eight soldiers were killed a few days ago and the anti-Albanian demonstrations – shows that this is not the case. In my opinion, the situation is extremely serious; it is true that we were a minority to say so months and months ago, but I feel that the situation is extremely serious. Certainly, Parliament can no longer see this agreement as the solution to the crises in Macedonia. A great deal more will be needed, and here I am addressing our fellow parliamentarians from Macedonia: the conditions have to be restored for genuine dialogue, there must be proper non-manipulative analysis of the real issues concerning, in particular, the Albanian minority, the cumulative frustrations suffered by this minority but also by other Albanian communities. I would point out that, until the Kosovo issue is resolved, it will be difficult to find a solution to the problem of Macedonia. Therefore, we must persuade the Commission and the Council to tackle these issues comprehensively at last and to discuss, at last, the matter of Kosovo's final status, to resolve, at last, the issue of Kosovar prisoners, and then to help our Macedonian friends deal with their genuine problems.
These frustrations are far-reaching. Macedonia's current economic situation certainly does nothing to further the resolution of any of these issues, but there is no doubt that there are currently economic and other disparities between the treatment of the Albanian minority and that of the Macedonian majority. When the Albanian minority of a town such as that of Tetovo sees coach loads of workers, 'ethnic Macedonian' workers, arriving from Skopje, the only possible conclusion is that they are being treated differently.
So federalism cannot provide a solution? In my opinion, Mrs Pack, quite the contrary: we must consider federalism. Federalism does not necessarily bring division. There are federalistic solutions – and I refer to the case of Belgium, for example, which invented the concept of community federalism, in which, for matters more directly related to the relationship between the citizens and their institution, which may include culture, education and even health, it would be possible to conceive of a federalism which would not bring about territorial division in Macedonia but which would provide the substantial
Albanian minority with institutions to represent it too and, therefore, with autonomous control at least over the areas which concern it most directly.
I believe that our fellow parliamentarians from Macedonia should be able to view these proposals for a solution without fear or suspicion, for they are the channels through which a climate can be established in which the two great communities that make up Macedonia today can coexist peacefully."@en1
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