Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-346"
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"en.20051026.22.3-346"2
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". – Madam President, thank you very much for this very interesting debate. I think it is clear to all of us that the Barcelona Process, of which we are celebrating the 10th anniversary, is a very important and historic process, even if we differ somewhat in our assessments.
Finally, may I say that I regretted very much not being able to attend the Euro-Med Parliamentary Committee in Rabat, but it was arranged on a day when the General Affairs Council, that is the Council of Foreign Ministers, was meeting and my first obligation was to that meeting. Otherwise I certainly would have attended.
I think we can all say that the Barcelona Process has already made a difference, although it has not been exploited to the full. I agree with those who said that we have to deepen and reinforce it and we have to motivate ourselves to carry on the work.
I can tell you again, I am a passionate, I would even say activist for this Barcelona Process and therefore I have initiated this communication, of which I have spoken before, in which we have prioritised the most important areas, at least in my view. We cannot do everything at once: education, democracy, human rights and reforms and economic development are priorities, but we must not forget the cultural aspect and also our heritage – remember the Euro-Med heritage programme.
What is the difference between Barcelona and the Neighbourhood Policy? For some, this may be confusing. Let me explain. Barcelona is the multilateral platform, the multilateral process, it is the process from region to region. This does not exclude this complementary bilateral process in the Neighbourhood Policy, with a tailor-made programme for each country.
Why is that so important? As many of you know, different countries have different attitudes. I have just come back from Lebanon, where we are working with the Prime Minister on his reform project, together with our action plan. There, I am very hopeful. I was also in Jordan recently, where we will do everything we can to support the national agenda. The Moroccan Deputy Minister was here today and we will be working very closely with the Moroccans.
There are other countries where I am somewhat disappointed and where we need to work together. But it is for the countries themselves to make a difference and for us to support them. Although we have to share the responsibility and show solidarity, every country should first and foremost have ownership of its own process and reform. We should not forget that they have the primary responsibility for developing their own countries.
The Euro-Med non-governmental platform presented its ideas in Luxembourg from 1 to 3 April 2005, and this very successful civil forum was organized with a series of national consultations and concluded with the approval of a statute and the charter of the NGO platform, as well as the election of a governing board. There were quite a number of proposals, which is certainly positive. That was reinforced in the declaration to be made in Barcelona. I know that the British Presidency intends to give those NGOs the right to speak and I think that is very positive and enriching for all of us.
The Commission has been organizing three press conferences and a media taskforce will be set up in 2006 to work on this.
Those who are not pursuing reforms in their own countries contribute to instability in those countries and thus in the region, whereas those who promote reforms improve stability in their countries and the region."@en1
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