Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-04-Speech-2-141"
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"en.20010904.7.2-141"2
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"Mrs President, Commissioner, in the current political situation there is no political alternative to enlargement supported by the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, as our group chairman has already stated.
The future of the European Union is not and should not be enlargement, contrary to what the President-in-Office of the Council said in his introductory speech. The future after 2004 of an enlarged Union is uncharted territory. The Union could be a consolidated free trade area, or else a supranational Union where objectives of sustainable development and social cohesion are the fundamental objectives of a reformed policy.
If we fight for this second option, then the next Intergovernmental Conference in 2003–2004 will be the last chance for the Fifteen to correct the failures of Nice and assume their responsibilities so that a Union of 27 Member States can be governed democratically and effectively.
The question is not, however, of a purely institutional nature: it is also a budgetary issue. If a policy of solidarity between the Member States is pursued, this means that, in the future, the Union’s financial resources will have to be increased for, in economic terms, the integration of the markets of the candidate countries with those of the Union has been taking place for 10 years at the cost of increasing territorial and social inequalities in the candidate countries.
Current European aid is essential and alleviates the cost of the transition, but if we really want to preserve a model of European society based upon solidarity and negotiation between all players in a 27-State European Union, there needs to be a clear commitment from both sides to this objective that exceeds the commitment to incorporating the Community acquis and will oblige each of the 15 current members to provide additional aid.
If we want enlargement to be a success whilst preserving our chances of an interdependent Europe, we must not, as Mr Verheugen rightly said, bury our heads in the sand. From this point of view, I am very shocked by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy’s rejection of the majority of the amendments tabled by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs."@en1
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