Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-16-Speech-3-255"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20000216.14.3-255"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, we did not need to witness the end the Kosovo conflict to reach the conclusion that, after various wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, with their untold negative effects on the stability of the Balkans, a global and durable strategy for the whole region is needed, aimed at guaranteeing peace and stability in south-east Europe. This strategy, which took shape in the Stability Pact adopted on 10 June 1999 in Cologne, considers south-east Europe as a whole, but simultaneously recognises the diversity and unequal development of the various countries that compose the region. The European Union’s contribution under the Stability Pact, now converted into what is called the “stabilisation and association process”, represents a development in the regional concept the European Community drew up in 1996 for the five countries of the region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania. Its most significant aspect was the establishment of political and economic conditions intended to support the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement, and it should therefore contribute to regional stability.
So establishing relations between the European Union and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on a completely new basis, and offering that country the prospect of full integration into the structures of the European Union through the mechanism of the stabilisation and association process, constitutes an important contribution to stability in the Balkans. The assumption is that the countries are prepared to accept a certain set of conditions. The expectation is that we send them a politically relevant signal that it is possible for them to join us one day, maintaining respect for their sovereignty of course.
We are not deluding ourselves by believing that, once agreement is obtained, the mandate we are giving the Commission today could constitute a first major step towards peace and stability in that long-suffering region, where the people have already shown they have the right to seek membership of our area of freedom and development. They have suffered enough, first under the Soviet yoke and then from the high price they paid for being forced to become part of the communist bloc.
The evidence is that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is politically and economically capable of establishing new contractual relations with the European Union, going beyond the cooperation agreement in force since 1 June 1998, which in practice targets respect for the
especially in key areas of the internal market. It is true that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia still has a long way to go, but, given the political and economic reforms already made in the context of the cooperation agreement, and with transitional periods accepted for certain domains, the country will be able to fulfil the conditions for a stabilisation and association agreement. We share the view that its development is a factor for stability in the region, we approve the terms of the negotiating mandate as proposed, emphasising that what is involved is a bilateral agreement with the European Union, and we agree with the rapporteur when he stresses that this is the first concrete application of an integrated long term strategy for south-east Europe, and that the issue is how the Balkans can be structured in the long term in order to guarantee peace and stability. The various references made to regional cooperation with the neighbouring countries in fact become politically relevant in this context. This agreement can and must become an example to the other countries in the region. That is why it is so important. The point is that underlying this whole process is an effective political will on the part of the European Union to draw closer to these countries. We are aware that some of them are already undergoing processes of democratic stabilisation, that others still need to affirm the democratic authority of their governments, and that equilibrium in others depends on the military presence in the zone, but they are all countries which now know that, once they have overcome their difficulties, a bridge is available to provide an effective link with the European Union."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples