Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-16-Speech-4-015"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.19990916.2.4-015"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the reconstruction of Kosovo has not yet got underway and the Member States are already greedily asking themselves: what can my country get out of it? Duties are being distributed amongst the large countries, regardless as to whether they are major sponsors, and curtailing the Commission’s role is successfully preventing a rather broader vision from establishing itself. That is generally accomplished by setting up a Governing Council with representatives from the 15 Member States. In this way everyone can easily see if the interests of their own country are being given due attention. I am also under the impression that the 15 representatives of the Member States work on this Council on the basis of an oath of office which requires them to support and further the interests of their own country to the best of their ability. They do not work on the basis of a European oath of office, which could require them to promise to do maximum justice to European interests and visions, and not just to national interests.
If our attention was truly focused on Kosovo’s needs then we would never set up a Governing Council of this kind. For if this was truly the case then an advisory committee with a limited number of expert advisors, based on a European oath of office, would be sufficient. They would then be able to monitor how effective the implementation process was. Self-interest would not be the determining factor in their case, but rather the question as to whether the reconstruction of Kosovo might also give a nice boost to the business community in Kosovo and in the surrounding poor countries, whom we are only compensating in dribs and drabs for the loyal way in which they have carried out the boycott against Serbia.
In any case, we want to make a Stability Pact work for their sakes. By stability we don’t mean things being at a standstill, but, rather, progress. We can use the Council’s readiness to modify its proposals as regards the aforementioned board, to show the citizens what the Council’s true motives are and to what extent it has a horror of wastefulness. After all, it will tend to be cheaper to produce the goods needed for the reconstruction of Kosovo in the region rather than in the Member States.
I would like to draw your attention to another particular aspect. It is well known that building up the public administration will make a very important contribution to Kosovo’s developmental opportunities. In my country, the association of Dutch authorities is working very hard on this at local level. But they come up against KLA civil leaders wherever the KLA has been able to take over the office of civil leader. These civil leaders impose their will on the population, which directly frustrates all attempts to create a civil service that functions effectively and inspires confidence. That is why I ask myself if the Council would be prepared, at the suggestion of the Commission, to look into whether it might be better for such offices to be filled by experienced people from outside.
We know from our experiences in Bosnia that there are some civil leaders of decidedly criminal character and some real low-life in these posts, which impedes the proper development of local communities. Mr President, we can see whether this project will be feasible from the Council’s willingness to take up our request to amend their document, a process that will show that Kosovo really is at the centre of interest. I would therefore also like to see the Commission do what is necessary to urge the Council to make amendments."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples