Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-14-Speech-3-173"
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"en.20010314.5.3-173"2
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"I would like to respond to four questions which were put during the course of the debate. I see that two of those who asked me direct questions have not unfortunately been able to stay in order to hear the response, but I am sure that does not mean that they do not think the questions were important. In any event, I thought the questions were important so I will respond to them and perhaps they will be able to read the answers in the official record.
The first question was about the Tetovo University and I want to make it clear to the honourable Member who raised that question in absentia that I think the university is extremely important. I am very pleased with the commitment of the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the establishment of that university. I am sure that Parliament will be pleased, but not surprised, that the Commission intends to put EUR 5 million of support into that university which has an extremely important role to play in ensuring the development of a successful multi-ethnic community.
In relation to the question of extremism, I agree with the honourable Member who said that we should not support Albanian extremism. We should all denounce it vigorously. In that context, I do not myself believe that it is remotely helpful, indeed exactly the reverse, to talk about constitutional change in the FYROM. We know perfectly well that there is a government in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which has done an extraordinary job, a very brave job, a very committed job, in moving along the road of economic and political reform. I commend the efforts that the government has made so far. That is why we have agreed to start negotiating a stabilisation and association agreement with that government and that is why we completed those negotiations for an agreement before completing them with anybody else. We should continue to support the government of the FYROM in all its efforts to build a successful pluralist open society in the FYROM. They have done an excellent job so far and we will continue to support them against the extremist threats with which they have to contend.
Two other questions, first of all the question of country strategy papers and the importance of including ideas of conflict prevention in the country strategy papers. I thought, and certainly meant to make it clear in my earlier remarks, that this was a question that we intended to address in our communication in April on conflict prevention. I can assure the honourable Member that we will do that. It is extremely important. It represents the sort of development in the preparation of country strategy papers that we have seen with other aid donors and development partners so I hope we can pursue that.
The honourable Member suggested, perhaps in view of our past experience a tad ambitiously, that we should launch ourselves on four new common strategies. I think we have some lessons to learn on common strategies as both the High Representative and this Commissioner have made clear in public and in private. But the honourable Member is entirely right to say that we need to look at more coherence in our policies in Africa. We have to take account of the fact that there is an unholy and unhealthy relationship between developmental problems in Africa and conflict.
Finally, I would like to address the question raised by Mr Rocard, who is, in many respects, the godfather of the conflict prevention network. That has been and remains a very valuable contribution to our policy armoury, although I think that we have to do rather more in making use of it. I hope we can in future. We had an extremely good meeting on the CPN last week with a group of parliamentarians. Two of his colleagues from the Socialist Group were able to attend that meeting at which there was a good exchange between my officials and the group of parliamentarians. We have an excellent relationship with the parliamentary advisory group on conflict prevention and will certainly take account of their advice and of the informed advice and wisdom of, as it were, the godfather – I mean that in an entirely benign sense – in our future development of the network and of our policies in this area. I hope that we can return to this subject in April when the Commission produces its communication on conflict prevention as a whole."@en1
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