Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-13-Speech-3-031"
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"en.20020313.2.3-031"2
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"Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, your speeches have naturally struck home with me as well, especially the idea that we are now on the road to enlarging European rule of law to include more countries. As a result, European peace can ensue in States that know their responsibilities. A ‘European-style’ peace. I also have a great deal of faith in the policy of the Commissioner during the negotiations. I support his underlying principles. I also welcome the fact that he keeps the pressure on until the last minute, until October, and that it is not a foregone conclusion that ten countries will be joining. Their accession remains conditional.
I should like to ask a specific question concerning the costs that enlargement entails. A few other MEPs have already mentioned this topic, and we have also discussed it with the Commissioner within the framework of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Security and Defence Policy. Regarding the costs of enlargement, I believe the Commissioner completely when he states in this respect that these will, in fact, not exceed our set budget. We have cut costs to ensure that enlargement becomes possible within the budget. Despite this, we hear all kinds of conflicting stories in the various Member States, depending on whether it is in their interest to turn this into an issue. A moment ago, I heard Italy being mentioned. I also have to include my own country, my own government, which states that the additional costs could be enormous. The Secretary of State for European Affairs made a cryptic statement that this could well cost the Netherlands anything between 0 to 1 billion. This proves that a) he has a conscience and b) he is also a campaign leader. Commissioner, I think it would be extremely useful if another authoritative analysis were issued of these calculations which are being drafted in the Member States and which give a completely different picture from that of the Commission. Surely this can be done independently, and I also think it is important for our people to be able to distinguish between the truth and accuracy on the one hand and unfounded nightmares on the other. Added to this, of course, is the fact that we have created our own problems by not reforming our own agricultural policy in time. We have simply not done our homework, but have saddled those other countries with these tasks instead – which they are implementing – and we complain in the meantime. Mr President, I have to say that I am also delighted with the statements made by the Commissioner with regard to the Beneš Decrees. We are all very busy working on them, and I have also noticed that in the Netherlands, associations, for example, are reporting claims in connection with Poland, among others. I would very much appreciate it if the Commission and the Council were to clarify which claims, with a reference to Copenhagen, would be viable and which would not be. In my view, clarity in this connection is crucial in order to keep our population in the positive frame of mind with regard to enlargement."@en1
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