Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-30-Speech-3-093-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20111130.15.3-093-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"(DE) Madam President, Mr Dowgielewicz, Mr Füle, I would like to welcome the group of guests from Croatia which is headed by the speaker of the Croatian Parliament Mr Bebić, several Members of the Croatian Parliament and also the chief negotiator and Croatian ambassador to the EU.
For this reason, I hope that tomorrow there will be a broad majority in favour of the accession of Croatia and that this will generate hope and confidence. During a phase of pessimism, which we have just been discussing, and even sometimes of defeatism, it is important to show that we believe in Europe. We believe in Europe together with Croatia and we will work with Croatia to develop and defend this new Europe.
I must admit, ladies and gentlemen, that it makes me feel very happy and quite emotional to submit my last report on Croatia to Parliament today and to ask you to give your agreement to Croatia’s accession to the EU. It has been a long and sometimes very difficult process. During the accession negotiations I dealt with three prime ministers, Ivica Račan, Ivo Sanader and Jadranka Kosor, and, of course, with many other politicians, including Vesna Pusić, Zoran Milanović and Milorad Pupovac. All of these politicians have shown a great deal of maturity across party boundaries and have committed to taking a joint approach to European questions. This sets a good example, in particular for the other countries in the region. I would like to thank the highly committed shadow rapporteurs. We have worked together extremely well. Of course, I would also like to thank the Commission and, in particular, Mr Füle. As far as it is possible, I would also like to give my sincere thanks to the Council.
Only by putting in place a consistent policy on the European side have we succeeded in ensuring, together with the responsible politicians in Croatia, that Croatia has made the necessary reforms and, above all, has begun working together with the International Criminal Court in The Hague and has since increased its cooperation. This is not about revenge or about European sensitivities. It is about the fact that only by coming to terms with one’s own history is it possible to reappraise the mistakes made in the past. I have never seen this as a criticism of Croatia’s right to defend itself. It is only a criticism of the fact that some of these situations may have been exploited in order to commit war crimes. That is the decisive issue and not the question of Croatia in and of itself.
However, a great deal has also been done in the fight against corruption. For me, the fact that a former prime minister is standing trial is not evidence of how widespread corruption is. Instead, it is evidence that Croatia is coming to grips with and overcoming the problem of corruption.
Of course, the judicial system has also been reformed and significant progress has been made. In addition, there will be a monitoring mechanism in place, which is important from my perspective, because the Commission will ensure that the reforms are continued before the actual accession takes place.
The efforts made to integrate the returning Serbian refugees were also important and Croatia has achieved a great deal in this area. I would particularly like to thank the two presidents, Ivo Josipović and Boris Tadić, for having the courage to take joint action, in particular with regard to their visit to Vukovar. I travelled to Vukovar a few weeks after the dreadful destruction and I have seen what human aggression can do when it is incited by unscrupulous politicians. However, on my most recent visit I also found that there are many people living in Vukovar who are looking to the future. I went to a school attended by both Croatian and Serbian children and discovered that they were prepared to talk about the future. There I had one of the best discussions about Europe that I have ever had. The people in Vukovar know what Europe is all about, which many of us have forgotten. Europe is about overcoming hate and conflict.
There in Vukovar I looked across the Danube, a river that should increasingly be bringing people together rather than dividing them. The citizens of Croatia understand this too.
Against this background, I would like to say that I am convinced that for precisely these reasons Croatia will do everything it can to give the other countries in the region the opportunity to join the European Union. Neighbourhood policy is an important area. I would like to mention once again that I am very grateful for the fact that Croatia and Slovenia – and I would like to mention the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor in this respect – have succeeded in bringing an end to their long dispute and have initiated a process which will put a stop to the border conflict and the border disagreements.
For me, the accession of Croatia is an important step towards European integration. I hope that the Council will be brave enough to make a move with regard to Serbia and Montenegro in the near future which will demonstrate that the integration process will continue even after Croatia’s accession. I know that many people in Europe today think that enlargement lies at the heart of our problems and is also the cause of them. However, it is not the constitutions of the new countries that have failed. Furthermore, the economic problems were not brought about by the new countries but by the old ones."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples