Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-299"
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"en.20031119.11.3-299"2
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"Madam President, I should like first of all to congratulate my honourable friend Mr Lagendijk on his well-documented report. It is a balanced and detailed piece of work which covers the issue objectively and gives an overall picture of the situation in the area and in the individual countries. It points out the particular conditions which prevail in each and evaluates the more specific data which document the various manifestations of their cooperation with the European Union.
Within this framework, the report – correctly in my opinion – stresses the serious importance within the priorities of the European Union of preparing the countries of South-East Europe for future integration into the European structures. It stresses that the progress of each country, as far as its accession is concerned, will depend on the degree to which it meets the Copenhagen criteria and the terms of the stabilisation and association process.
In fact, irrespective of the anticipated peculiarities that characterise the countries in question, the basic principle must remain that all are dealt with and judged in the same way when weighing their virtues and their shortcomings, as regards the possibility of full integration into the European family.
I should also like to agree with the rapporteur that the 'hot potato' in the area is the Kosovo regime, but I believe that any rushed decision or action must be avoided in order to first safeguard the necessary preconditions for smoothing out the situation, with respect for the rights of all interested parties and for the related United Nations resolutions and the principle of safeguarding the external borders of the countries in the area.
Allow me to take this opportunity to refer to the particular subject touched on in paragraph 21 of the report and to expressly state that the European Parliament regrets the flagrantly unacceptable manner in which the recent local elections were conducted in Albania. Unfortunately, the sad irregularities and the blatant violation of democratic procedures and values which provoked this clear remark on the part of the rapporteur – with which my honourable friend Mrs Pack agreed on behalf of my political group – were repeated, to a more acute degree, with a plethora of clashes, acts of violence and undermining of the democratic morale of citizens and candidates in the repeat elections just three days ago.
I want to hope that the Albanian authorities will understand the message which Parliament is sending them via the Lagendijk report and will strengthen their commitment to ensuring the smooth operation of democracy and the rule of law in their country, so that relations between Albania and the European Union and the successful completion of the stabilisation and association agreement are not adversely affected."@en1
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