Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-07-21-Speech-3-107"
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"en.19990721.6.3-107"2
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"(FR) Mr President, although our hemicycle is largely empty, I do not want to miss this opportunity, from the benches of this Assembly, to greet and wish the best of luck to my former colleague, Tarya Halonen.
There is a new Presidency, which does not resemble the last one very much, but shouldn"t we point out some similarities nonetheless? The German Presidency was concerned with putting together its key work, Agenda 2000, and faced two major crises, that of the Commission, and the much more serious one of the war in Kosovo.
The Finnish Presidency has been entrusted by the European Council with a number of important projects which could be grouped together under the heading ‘Preparation for Europe"s Future’. Indeed, if it manages to bring to a successful conclusion the Tampere Extraordinary Summit, which concerns the security of Europe"s citizens, the preparation of a European defence system, through the integration of the WEU with the European Union, the launch of a new round of enlargement in December, and finally, the implementation of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, the Finnish Presidency will have been a great Presidency of transition for the 21st century.
Finland, thanks to the commitment and tenacity of its President, Martti Ahtisaari, caused a shift in the mind set in Kosovo from one of war to one of peace. Together with the German Presidency, the Finnish President clearly articulated Europe"s voice at the opportune moment.
In Kosovo, and throughout the region devastated by war, almost everything remains to be done: to guarantee an orderly return of the refugees, to build democratic institutions, to set up infrastructures, to reconstruct the economy and make it work. Well, in order to overcome all of these challenges, the international community, particularly Europe, will have to commit a huge amount of human and financial resources. Are we ready for that? The necessary funds have not, of course, been provided for in the financial projections. The sums of money which have been announced seem largely insufficient, and the ECO/FIN Council, as it has done many times before, is already questioning formal decisions taken elsewhere.
If I have one piece of advice to offer you today, Mrs Halonen, one suggestion to make, it is that you should ensure that these words are followed up with action. The great European plan for definitive peacemaking in the Balkans must not fall victim to complicated and penny-pinching calculations."@en1
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