Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-16-Speech-3-201"
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"en.20090916.17.3-201"2
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"Thank you very much, Madam President. I too would like to welcome Mrs Cecilia Malmström and Commissioner Barrot. I am also delighted with this proposal that has been put forward. As a former Hungarian Foreign Minister, I have worked very hard together with others to bring the Western Balkan countries closer to the European Union and make them take the next step on the path to accession. We also know that, from this perspective, visa-free travel is the thing which people perhaps understand and feel the most. It now paves the way for them to enjoy freedom of movement and to form closer human relationships. Perhaps it will also help with what I think we all consider important, which is sustaining the motivation of these countries during the very difficult process which accession entails.
We know that some very serious steps must be taken. Very often, certain traditions need to be transcended which we know it is not easy to transcend. It is very important that the three countries are now given visa-free travel. I would also like to draw your attention to a view which has been voiced many times today, namely, that the balance in the Western Balkan countries is very delicate. There were already ethnic tensions before the war, but they have still remained following the war. We must therefore assess every kind of measure from the perspective of whether it will decrease or increase these tensions.
In the case of Bosnia, as has been mentioned several times today, this decision is not only beneficial and important because Bosnia has now been left out, but also because a large number of Bosnian citizens who have a Croatian or Serbian passport will enjoy visa-free travel, while the remainder will not. The same situation applies to Kosovan citizens too, so that anyone who can obtain their passport in Serbia will enjoy visa-free travel.
I believe that it is important for us to emphasise once again that a political decision must be made, not only a technical one. For this reason, it is our responsibility to help these countries achieve visa-free travel as soon as possible, within a very specific timeframe."@en1
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