Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-03-Speech-3-016"
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"en.20020703.2.3-016"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members, honourable Members of the European Commission, ladies and gentlemen, it is a very great honour for me to speak in this Parliament for the first time here today. It is with particular pleasure that I do so as President-in-Office of the European Council with a view to presenting the priorities of the Danish Presidency of the EU. I look forward to the subsequent debate concerning the tasks ahead of us.
: Enlargement of the EU – from Copenhagen to Copenhagen. A decision on enlargement of the EU will be made at the summit in Copenhagen in December.
: Freedom, security and justice – we shall strengthen the fight against terrorism, crime and illegal immigration.
: Sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. We will work towards ensuring that economic growth goes hand –in hand with protection of the environment and improvements in employment.
: Safe food. We will work towards better food safety, review the agricultural policy and overhaul the common fisheries policy.
: The EU’s global responsibility. We shall strengthen the common foreign and security policy, expand the strong links between Europe and the USA and work towards a global agreement between the rich and poor countries of the world.
At the European Council meeting in Seville a number of decisions were made concerning the frameworks for the Council’s work in the light of enlargement. I welcome these decisions. We will seek as far as possible to implement them as early as during the Danish Presidency. This applies not least to the decisions concerning greater openness in the work of the Council. Overall it is our ambition to secure the greatest possible degree of openness surrounding the work of the Danish Presidency.
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The enlargement of the EU is the most important task of the Danish Presidency. I will deal with this important subject fully later on in my contribution, but first I would like to comment on the other topics in the Presidency’s programme.
Alongside enlargement, the Danish Presidency attaches great importance to honouring other significant items on the EU’s agenda. We want to focus on four areas in particular:
Firstly, we want to work towards greater
.
The European Parliament is an important and constructive force in the development of European cooperation and I am sure that this will continue to be true in the months ahead, in which we face a number of decisions of crucial importance for the future of the EU. The Danish Presidency is therefore preparing for close cooperation with the European Parliament.
The Danish Presidency will give high priority to combating cross-border crime and to implementing the EU’s action plan for combating terrorism. We will attach importance to developing strong international cooperation – not least with the USA.
The Presidency will also follow up the conclusions of the European Council in Seville concerning asylum, immigration and border controls. A number of forward-looking, concrete and balanced decisions were taken here which form a good basis for the work under the Danish Presidency.
Secondly, the Danish Presidency will work towards
economic, social and environmental.
We will prioritise the implementation of the internal market and the development of economic cooperation between EU Member States. A strong and competitive European economy is essential for growth, prosperity, increased employment and sustainable development. We must be able to keep up with the global competition – not least in respect of the USA.
Further, the Danish Presidency will focus on food. We want to work to secure
. Food safety – from the soil to the table – is a very important task for the EU. Under the Danish Presidency we will seek to make concrete progress in this area.
Discussions concerning reform of the common agricultural policy will also be initiated during the Danish Presidency. We will give this work considerable priority and seek to advance it as far as is humanly possible; but I would like to emphasise that this is a discussion which must take place independently of the negotiations concerning enlargement of the EU. We will not accept the imposition of new conditions for enlargement.
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Finally, the Presidency will give priority to the work on a new common fisheries policy for the Member States. This is an extensive and difficult task. The Commission’s proposal forms a good and serious basis for further work.
is the final main topic of the Danish Presidency.
The EU has a particular responsibility for peace and stability in a world that is coming ever closer together. That applies not least in the fight against international terrorism and in our efforts to reduce poverty in the world.
The Danish Presidency wishes to strengthen the cooperation between the institutions of the EU. I know that the European Parliament shares this desire. We will seek to promote contacts and cooperation between the institutions. We intend to hold summits between Parliament, the Commission and the Presidency ahead of the European Council meetings in Brussels and Copenhagen.
Development of the common security and defence policy (ESDP) will also be continued over the coming six months. Due to the Danish opt-out in the area of defence, work concerning the military aspects of the cooperation will be led by Greece and I would like to emphasise that we will endeavour to ensure that there is smooth and efficient cooperation between the two presidencies on this point.
The Danish Presidency will be marked by a number of notable international summits.
The EU must and will assume a central role at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. We will work on the basis of the frameworks laid down at the summit in Seville. It is the intention of the Danish Presidency to secure as ambitious a result as is humanly possible. The aim is a forward-looking global agreement that places obligations on rich and poor countries alike; a global agreement in which the rich countries provide the poor countries with better development opportunities through free trade and increased development aid, while in return the developing countries commit themselves to good governance – i.e. democracy, respect for human rights, and open and free access to information.
Relations between Europe and Asia will be developed further at the ASEM summit in Copenhagen in September.
We will also pave the way for a strengthening of relationships with Russia and the EU’s new neighbours to the east – Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. There is a need to formulate a new policy in respect of these countries.
A solution – based on the Schengen acquis – must be found to the particular circumstances surrounding Kaliningrad. It should be possible to reach a reasonable understanding with Russia on this basis. A summit will be held between the EU and Russia in Copenhagen in November and this summit will be a significant step in this whole process.
Let me return to the most important task that the Presidency faces in these six months, namely the conclusion of negotiations concerning enlargement of the EU by up to 10 new Member States. It was in Copenhagen in 1993 that the conditions for membership of the EU were defined and it may now be in Copenhagen in 2002 that the negotiations concerning enlargement are finalised. From Copenhagen to Copenhagen.
Our aim is to conclude the negotiations with all the applicant countries that are ready by the end of the year. This will make it possible for these countries to become members of the EU in 2004, i.e. before the next elections to the European Parliament.
At the same time, we want to advance negotiations with those countries that will not be ready for membership until a later point in time, and we want to strengthen links with the EU’s new and old neighbours.
I will apply three principles in the negotiations concerning enlargement of the EU:
We face important decisions in connection with our common decision making. The Presidency will demonstrate efficiency and flexibility and looks forward to fruitful cooperation. We have a new budget to pass. Here, too, the Presidency is ready for constructive and results-oriented negotiations.
Firstly, we will stand by the requirement that clear criteria must be met in order for a country to become a member of the EU. I hope that this will apply to ten countries; but I will not compromise on this fundamental requirement.
Secondly, no country shall have to wait for others. There are differences in the size of the countries, but not in their rights or obligations. If only some of the countries – and not all ten countries – are ready by December, we in Copenhagen must conclude the negotiations with those that are ready, and no country which is ready should have to wait for a country that is not ready.
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Thirdly, we will stick to December 2002 as a decisive and binding deadline. Experience suggests that the EU is best at handling one major task at a time. The next six months have been set aside for enlargement. New tasks will then be pressing. In 2003 we must conclude the discussions in the Convention on the future of the European Union. In 2004 we will have the Intergovernmental Conference and the elections to the European Parliament, and in 2005 and 2006 we are to specify the frameworks for the next budget period.
I am not saying that it is now or never; however, if we do not seize the opportunity now we risk enlargement’s being substantially delayed. We have a moral and historic duty to achieve a good and positive result.
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However, there are number of obstacles in our path which we near to clear out of the way.
Firstly, there is the question of funding. This applies in particular to the negotiations concerning agriculture, structural funds and budgets. In my opinion the Commission has submitted a well-balanced and reasonable proposal.
Some Member States consider the proposal too expensive. At the same time, the candidate countries are suggesting that the proposal is insufficient. In my opinion the Commission has found the right balance in its proposal.
At the summit in Seville we approved an ambitious timetable. It means that the EU must be able to notify the candidate countries of its common position on the matter of direct income subsidies to farmers by early November at the latest. The Danish Presidency will stick to this ambitious timetable.
Denmark attaches great importance to the work of the European Parliament and the Presidency will be well represented at all plenary sessions. In this connection a central role will be taken by our European Affairs Minister Bertel Haarder, a former Member of this Parliament.
The second central problem is the issue of Cyprus. Cyprus is doing well in the accession negotiations; it is one of the countries that have closed the most negotiation chapters – 28 out of 31 – and as a candidate country Cyprus has a right to become a member when the country is ready. Yet at the same time, the fact that the island is still divided is a problem. The European Council in Helsinki concluded that a solution to this problem would be advantageous for, but not a condition of, Cyprus’s accession to the EU. At the same time, however, it was emphasised that a final decision will be taken based on all relevant factors. The Danish Presidency will continue the work on this basis and I would like to stress that everyone involved – on both sides – should do their utmost to find a solution as quickly as possible.
Thirdly, the Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty represents an unknown factor. Approval of the Nice Treaty is essential if the enlargement is to be able to be implemented within the time frames set. Negotiations are taking place on the basis of the provisions of the Nice Treaty. Another ‘no’ vote in Ireland would jeopardise the entire process. In view of this I welcome the declaration of Irish neutrality at the summit in Seville. A clear and positive message has been sent from Europe to the Irish people.
I make no secret of the fact that we face considerable challenges, but no one should be in any doubt as to the resolve, commitment and will of the Danish Presidency.
A good starting point has been created. This is not least a result of exhaustive work by the candidate countries and the Commission over more than ten years; similarly, the Danish Presidency will be continuing the work based on the results achieved by earlier presidencies, including the great progress made by the Spanish Presidency.
Ten years of negotiations, ten years of hard work that has borne fruit, ten years of expectations that we cannot afford to disappoint. We must keep the promises that we have given each other. We must keep to the deadlines that we have set ourselves. We must seize the historic opportunity that we have been given.
Over forty years of communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe have resulted in an unfortunate and artificial division of Europe. It is this dark chapter in the history of Europe that we now have opportunity to end.
The time for speech-making has passed. We must make sure that our words are followed by deeds. It is now that we must deliver on our promises.
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The banner of the Danish Presidency is ‘One Europe’: One Europe for all our peoples. One Europe as a framework for future cooperation that benefits everyone. One Europe of freedom, peace and prosperity.
The Danish Presidency will do its utmost to honour this and the other tasks with which we have been entrusted. We cannot do it alone; we need all our partners.
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After the Second World War, great Europeans such as Schuman, Monnet and Spinelli created the vision of a Europe without war, a Europe united in cooperation. This dream has become a reality for us in Western Europe. Enlargement of the EU is an opportunity to extend the freedom, peace, stability and prosperity that we ourselves know to include the countries of the East as well. We must set about this task in the spirit that characterised the founders of European cooperation. We must not get bogged down in details; we must have the courage and the will to persist in the historic vision and task ahead of us.
I appeal to everyone to see the enlargement of the EU in this historic perspective. I call upon everyone to seize this historic opportunity to reunite a Europe that was previously divided.
I appeal for close cooperation with the European Parliament to implement this most important political task of our generation: to welcome the new democracies of Eastern and Central Europe to the European Union.
Thank you, Mr President.
A number of other Danish ministers will also participate in plenary debates in the coming months. I myself will keep Parliament informed following the European Council in Brussels and give a report at the end of the presidency following the summit in Copenhagen. In addition, I will participate in the great debate concerning enlargement which will take place on 19 November.
We have given our presidency programme the title “One Europe”. In so doing we are emphasising the significance that we attach to enlargement and to broader cooperation on our continent. The programme contains a detailed account of our aims and plans in the individual areas. Here today I will concentrate on the main themes.
The main headings of the programme are:"@en1
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"Fifthly"1
"Firstly"1
"Fourthly"1
"Secondly"1
"The EU’s global responsibility"1
"Thirdly"1
"freedom, security and justice"1
"safe food"1
"sustainable development"1
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