Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-05-Speech-4-196"
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"en.20001005.12.4-196"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is clear that today may well turn out to be a historic day in this Parliament, possibly ushering in the end of one of the last buttresses of a totalitarian dictatorship in Europe. It is of course difficult to determine how long the Serbian population will need to continue fighting before Milosevic will actually disappear off the scene. A unanimous stance on the part of the Serbian population has proved extremely important, as it will continue to do so for the next couple of days and weeks. This means, at the same time, that the European Union too will very much need to form a united front. In this context, I deplore the fact that the Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs, fortunately abandoned by almost all parties in the Lower Chamber, adopted a stance out of the blue which goes against the unity of the European Union and against the wishes of the opposition in Serbia. I believe this displays a lack of earnestness, and is at the same time insulting to his office. It also signals an excessive drive to stand out from the rest, to the point where the life of people could be at stake. I believe it is also important to establish at this time on what basis the High Representative and the Council will need to adopt their positions. Will it be by largest common denominator, or on the basis of a large majority in the Council, which should not be difficult to achieve with regard to this issue?
In addition to establishing unity in the Union, this is also, of course, about recognising the fact that Kostunica has won the presidential elections. I wonder if the Commissioner has planned any steps in this respect to demonstrate that we really do consider Kostunica to be the only lawfully elected representative of the Serbian people, and the only partner with whom the European Union is involved as from today.
Naturally it is difficult to mention budgets at this early stage. The High Representative explained this only a moment ago, but what we can do is to selectively lift sanctions by way of sending a message to the Serbian electorate. The neighbouring countries will take a great interest in this too. I hope that the Council, in conjunction with the Commission, will take clear measures in this respect in the short term.
It is not easy to gauge Serbia’s future. As we have already witnessed all over Central Europe, constitutional states and democracy do not blossom automatically after a revolution. Nationalism does not automatically disappear if a democratically elected president can be found. We should therefore remain level-headed and focused in our attempts to create openings for a development which will bring Serbia nearer to Europe, also from a moral-political point of view."@en1
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