Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-12-Speech-3-212"
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"en.20020612.5.3-212"2
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"Madam President, enlargement is work on behalf of peace, stability and civil rights. If the applicant countries were not to be included, Central and Eastern Europe could see unrest, dictatorships and large-scale uncontrolled migration start to emerge. Let us not forget how, for what appear to be insignificant reasons, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination can flare up in democratic elections in democratic countries, such as Austria, Holland and France. If we cannot effect controlled enlargement, with the approval of the people, there is a danger that we will see the Union rocked by extremist political eruptions. These may well be something even bigger than the current policy on immigration or questions of security.
I would remind everyone that we are admitting around 100 million people to the Union at one time. That is almost 30% of our present population. They will represent approximately 5% of the figure for GNP. Significantly poorer people will therefore be amongst us and also competing for jobs. To prevent the populist extreme right from rising any further it is vital for the new Member States to be admitted as members in a controlled way that benefits everyone.
Some very well educated people from the new countries will also be joining us. We shall be greatly enriched culturally. That will be important in a time of content production and an information-based economy. We shall also have to deal with a negative tradition: there is no great respect for the law everywhere as, during the time of the Soviet Union, it was interpreted arbitrarily. By the end of the year the candidate countries should have produced a report on the corruption and crime that exist there. The implementation of EU legislation must likewise be properly verified.
Finally, as a solution to the heated argument over Kaliningrad, I would propose that the Russians should go there by train. We have seen that before. The buses could also be watched. I would have asked Commissioner Verheugen about this but he has just gone to the swimming pool. Perhaps his advisor will take this question. Would that be all right? Many Russians are in favour of this idea."@en1
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