Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-14-Speech-2-183"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001114.7.2-183"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, we are all aware that the Western Balkans present a significant challenge for the European Union and the credibility of its foreign policy, due to the scale of our human, political and financial commitment in the region, and also our desire to facilitate stabilisation through the construction, development and finally reintegration of the Balkan region into the European family.
The Council Presidency aims to reach an agreement on the proposals for a Regulation regarding the CARDS programme and the European Agency for Reconstruction during the General Affairs Council at the end of November, in other words next week, so as to be able to make an announcement at Zagreb on 24 November. I should like to remind you that the main priorities of the CARDS programme are the strengthening of institutions with regard to democracy and the rule of law, economic development and reconstruction, and regional cooperation. The CARDS programme should therefore improve the cohesiveness, effectiveness and visibility of the assistance provided by the European Union to the region.
At the Budget Council on 20 July, the Member States unanimously decided to refocus the debate on the total amount of the financial envelope set aside for CARDS for the period 2000-2006 within the context of respect for the ceiling of heading 4 of the Financial Perspective, as determined by the European Council in Berlin. This amount, which will include assistance for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, will result from a unanimous decision regarding the way in which the EUR 10 billion available under the ceiling of heading 4 will be distributed between the two aid programmes, MEDA II and CARDS, the adoption of which will feature among our priorities.
Lastly, during the General Affairs Council on 18 September, the Presidency-in-Office adopted asymmetric commercial preferences for the benefit of those countries that are participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process. These measures accord preferential access to the Community market for agricultural and industrial products produced by these countries. By adopting these measures, the European Union has performed an exceptional gesture, as this process of liberalisation, in particular as regards agricultural products, has been offered practically without conditions or rights. Such measures entered into force on 1 November and the Council is currently working to extend them to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The French Presidency set itself ambitious targets as regards the Western Balkans which are close to being achieved: the development of the Stabilisation and Association Process, the adoption of the CARDS programme, the adoption of asymmetric commercial preferences, to mention but the more noteworthy Community measures. The long-awaited victory of democracy in Croatia, and then in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, forces the European Union, as we are well aware, to take things much further. This is why we must deliver a very strong political message at the Zagreb summit, one that is in line with the high hopes for peace and reconciliation that the peoples of the countries in the region have placed in this democratic change. The European Union must not be afraid to say to these countries: yes, your place, your future is within the European family.
This year began on a positive note with democratic change in Croatia, as a result of the parliamentary and presidential elections it held. It continued with another major event in the form of the victory of democratic forces in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the fall of Milosevic. We indeed hope that the year will end with the consolidation of democracy on 23 December during the parliamentary elections in Serbia.
As you will be aware, the European Union, has contributed significantly to these historic developments. It reacted immediately to the new order in Croatia, by undertaking the process that will lead, at the Zagreb summit on 24 November, in other words in ten days’ time, to the opening of negotiations aimed at concluding a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with this country. As it had made a similar commitment to the people of Serbia, it took the necessary steps on the election of President Kostunica, whom you are to meet tomorrow. These steps included the lifting of sanctions that had been imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, emergency assistance to the value of EUR 200 million granted by the European Council meeting in Biarritz, and the integration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into the international community, all with a view to supporting the process of the consolidation of democracy.
I should like to speak in more detail about the priorities set by the Presidency-in-Office for the Western Balkans. Thinking ahead to the summit in Zagreb, we wanted to focus the Union’s action on consolidating democracy and evaluating the Stabilisation and Association Process. To this end we have set two aims; the first is to develop regional cooperation, and the second is to implement a genuine policy to encourage a rapprochement between these countries and the European Union.
At Cologne, the European Council offered countries the opportunity to join the European Union. At Feira, the Council considered those countries participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process as potential applicants for membership of the European Union. We intend to confirm the offer at the Zagreb summit, but also go one step further and define the measures each country needs to take and the reforms they need to put in place to this end. Lastly, we intend to confirm that the process will receive Community support of the highest order.
On the initiative of France, for the first time the Zagreb Summit will gather together Heads of State and Government of the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans that are participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This summit will provide an opportunity to draw conclusions at the highest level, with regard to the decisive democratic changes that have taken place in this region. As a result of this, we will be able to reaffirm the fact that the way is open for a rapprochement between all of the countries in the region and the European Union, within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
We should like to highlight the value of the process, for example by marking the conclusion of negotiations of the first Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia during the Zagreb Summit, or confirming an individual approach that is adapted to each country’s particular characteristics and, as I have already said, by outlining the prospects the process holds for each of us.
The summit will also aim to consolidate democracy in the FRY, support the process of reconciliation between these countries and neighbouring countries, and encourage the development of reliable cooperation between the countries in the region. Therefore, the Union, without waiting for the Stabilisation and Association Agreements to be implemented, will remind the five countries concerned that it expects them, as of now, to conclude regional cooperation agreements between themselves. Such agreements, that were provided for within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, should, in our view, include the initiation of political dialogue, a regional free trade area, as well as close collaboration in the field of justice and home affairs, in particular with a view to strengthening the judiciary and its independence in the fight against organised crime, corruption, money laundering and all other forms of criminal trafficking. Any rapprochement with the European Union is, in fact, closely linked, in the eyes of the Council, to the development of regional cooperation.
Examination of the reports by Mr Westendorp y Cabeza and Mr Lagendijk on proposals for a Regulation concerning a framework programme on the one hand, and the European Agency for Reconstruction on the other, provide us with an opportunity to assess the scale of the support that the Union intends to give the Western Balkans in relation to the Stabilisation and Association Process. Both reports are along the right lines. The Presidency-in-Office, like you, would like this framework programme to implement the principles of the reform of the management of external aid: fewer procedures, greater coordination out in the field, fewer outstanding commitments. Similarly, we support the extension to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of the activity of the European Agency for Reconstruction, which proved its effectiveness in Kosovo. We would like to see the programmes assigned to it by the Commission implemented more efficiently and speedily."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples