Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-16-Speech-3-260"
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"en.20000216.14.3-260"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, Kosovo was hopefully the last occasion on which international law could be interpreted as saying that dictators could persecute minorities in the most repellent way on the grounds that “it is happening within their own nation”. When the USA and NATO and, finally, also the EU, reacted, it was already late, in fact very late. A great deal of suffering could have been avoided if the EU, among others, has acted earlier and more decisively. We, the European Union, therefore have a special responsibility to help, support and rebuild the Balkans now. Our absolute objective must be to create the prior conditions for all countries in south-east Europe to be integrated with other countries in the EU – economically, politically and in terms of trade.
Fertile soil for the growth of democracy in this war-ravaged part of Europe is best provided through trade and economic integration. We Liberals are prepared to go a long way and to do so quickly, just as Paolo Costa reported. It is therefore with great satisfaction that we welcome the proposal that is now being made for a stabilisation and association agreement with Macedonia, and we thank Mr Swoboda for a very good report. Macedonia deserves our support, especially in view of the self-sacrificial, disinterested work which the people and leaders of Macedonia undertook during the Kosovo war. Now that Macedonia is prising itself loose from the crushing embrace of Communism and nationalism, it is our duty to act and provide support in no uncertain terms. We should do exactly the same for the other countries in the Balkans. This is an urgent duty for the EU.
Mr President, allow me in this context to remind MEPs – especially in view of a discussion earlier this evening – of the fact that the man who is mainly responsible for war, human degradation, murder and driving innocent people from their homes is still governing what remains of Yugoslavia, namely Serbia. The man who is accused of genocide and who ought to be brought before the war crimes tribunal in the Hague still goes free. I am talking about Milosevic. As long as Milosevic is still there and Serbia is not pursuing a democratic path, Serbia constitutes a constant threat to peace throughout the Balkans, including in Macedonia."@en1
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