Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-04-09-Speech-3-046"
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"en.20030409.3.3-046"2
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"Mr President, your reality actually consists of many years of dreams. The process of enlargement, about which everybody has fantasised in the past, is now being given flesh and bones. In a debate such as this, it is appropriate to congratulate the Commission and its services on this formidable task. We have a Commissioner who has played and still is playing a major role in this enlargement, who has constantly kept us informed about what he was doing and with whom we have clearly always been on the same wavelength from a political point of view. Furthermore, the Commission has used its best officials for the enlargement discussions, and so it has become a task that we will never forget. I personally used to dream these dreams with Czech friends, and I am therefore extremely pleased that the Czech Republic will be one of the first ten countries to accede to the European Union.
The Balladur initiative has been on the agenda a number of times in the past, particularly with regard to borders and the rights of minorities. It is odd that the Balladur initiative still forms one of the cornerstones of the political criteria of Copenhagen. I would actually like to say something about borders. This week we voted on the transit problems of Russians living in Kaliningrad. At the time we thought: they all travel via Lithuania and we must reach agreement with Lithuania before Lithuania's accession becomes a reality, because this is also a border problem. On this point, Lithuania has adjusted very well to the general pattern of European Union negotiations. I would, however, like to point out that the report on this is couched in such general terms that Latvia and Estonia are also included in it, and this is an opportunity for the Commission and the Council to take a look at the ratification of the border agreements between Russia and the Baltic republics, who themselves have ratified everything there has been to ratify, whereas the Duma still has this ratification hanging over its head. Would this now not be a good opportunity to ensure, in the agreements about transit arrangements for Kaliningrad, that all ratifications also become a reality on the part of the Duma? I am pleased to see the Commissioner nod, and the Chairman of the Council as well.
There is another border problem that has regrettably not yet been solved. This time, however, it is not the candidate Member State, Cyprus, that is at fault, given the fact that the President of Cyprus very recently approved the mediation of the United Nations. To our deep regret, and certainly to our surprise as well, it was the Turkish side that did not do so. Cyprus cannot therefore be blamed for this and can be wholeheartedly welcomed as a Member State of the European Union as long as the country is willing to continue to honour UN mediation as it has been doing in the past. Turkey's position makes us feel all the more gloomy, because Turkey now has a black mark against an important political criterion in this area. I would like to call on Turkey to continue to meet the political criteria of Copenhagen, including in respect of this issue, because only then can we regard it as a true candidate Member State that is welcome in our ranks."@en1
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