Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-14-Speech-2-200"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020514.10.2-200"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"As we have come to expect from Mrs Hoff, she has drafted a very balanced and expert report on Kaliningrad. I have to say that I have a great deal of admiration for the way in which she has done this and for the tact with which she also continuously underlines Russian interests, so that we, in our concern for Kalinigrad, do not meet with any distrust from Moscow. Mrs Hoff is extremely skilled in this area. In fact, Kaliningrad is one of her specialist areas, and I have therefore always listened with great respect to her reports and her judgment, in particular, and we have always been quite happy to cross swords in the past.
Kaliningrad is not Konigsberg any more. Anyone who has ever lived there will recognise very little and will no longer feel at home there. We would have hardly paid any attention to the region if it were not for the fact that it will be forming an enclave in the European Union. Proximity brings with it responsibility, and I believe that this has also been an important motive for the rapporteur. We should take an interest in the future of the people who live there. This is why it is right that the rapporteur not only considered the macro aspects, but also the practical day-to-day needs of the citizens of Kaliningrad. Our main concern in this respect is not to allow them to be left in isolation.
The roads to the other parts of the Russian Federation must be easily passable, as must those to the future EU Member States. The latter are possibly considered to be more important than the former. In my view, travelling to the European Union unhindered takes priority. Hence the pressure to solve the visa issue, albeit within the Schengen framework – we should not kid ourselves – in a flexible manner. After all, many of the restrictions are man-made. The problems at the borders are all too often caused by sluggishness on the part of the staff, time-consuming, bureaucratic habits and suchlike. It is therefore of major importance for a mentality to be instilled which befits the rule of law, democracy and a social market economy. Needless to say, developing contacts between civil-society organisations in the European Union and in Kaliningrad and elsewhere in Russia could also prove crucial, because these particularly deal with day-to-day actions.
I should like to thank Mrs Hoff for accepting my amendments from the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, and particularly for the humour with which she has responded to the ploys which I have used in the process. Many thanks and I wish her all the best."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples