Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-04-Speech-4-129"
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"en.20011004.5.4-129"2
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"Mr President, if the constitutional changes and reform laws in Macedonia come into force – and we hope that this will happen soon – the country will have minority rights legislation which far outstrips the standards in the majority of European countries and most EU Member States. We always talk very pompously about European standards – which, in reality, do not exist in this form – and often demand that other countries meet criteria which many of our own EU Member States are not prepared to comply with themselves.
Nonetheless, I am gratified by this positive development in Macedonia, not only in the wake of the most recent acts of violence but over the last two years since the Georgievski government embarked on a reform course in this area. Once again, the violence has jeopardised this process. I am pleased that the European Union and other international organisations, including NATO, have succeeded in shoring up the process, so that the reform course has not only continued but has actually improved and accelerated.
However, this should not be a reason for us to fob off the Macedonians with mere thanks, as it were. Like Mr Haarder, I too believe that we owe them a debt of gratitude. However, this gratitude must be of a practical nature. We must finally take action in response to the scandalous handling of the issue of the country's name. We must finally take action on the financial resources for Macedonia, which must be used to benefit the country as a whole, including the very underdeveloped east and south and not just the capital or the few regions which were particularly affected by the crisis.
What is very important is that we must finally begin to recognise that this country is our partner, based on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. We do not need any special instruments, we do not need a (pseudo) protectorate status, which is obviously still being mooted in some circles, also in connection with the idea of special agencies etc. I regard Macedonia as our partner. The Association Agreement is the instrument through which we can channel our cooperation. We must continue to work with Macedonia in partnership and assist it in its progression towards membership of the European Union."@en1
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