Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-06-Speech-3-041"
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".
Ladies and gentlemen, you are now all aware of the results of the Brussels European Council. The Council was well organised and well managed by the Danish Presidency and it allowed us to eliminate all the obstacles standing in the way of enlargement.
The European Council accepted our proposals in general and gave us a mandate to negotiate on the institutional and financial chapters still open.
The allocation of 23 billion euro to the Structural Funds agreed to by the European Council is less than what the Commission originally proposed. Nonetheless, it is a huge amount, in line with the economic and social goals of enlargement.
Lastly, thanks to the efforts of all parties, a very important agreement was reached on agriculture, one of the most sensitive financial issues, to apply from 2007.
After Copenhagen, Athens will be the next step on the road to enlargement and the accession treaties will be signed there in April 2003. This will allow us to meet our target so the future Member States can take part in the European elections in 2004.
The reality of enlargement is taking form. Of course, there are still some points to follow up and keep an eye on over the next two years and even after the accession of the new member countries, as we said in our Report. I have already told you that six months before accession we will be reporting to the European Council on progress made. And alongside a general economic safeguard clause, two specific clauses can be applied where the new Member States fail to fulfil undertakings given during the negotiations as regards the internal market and justice and home affairs. But these issues are not likely to halt the whole process.
Our work over the coming year will therefore concentrate on this fifth enlargement. In addition to the various formalities required by the accession process, we will need to focus on adjusting the financial perspective for the period 2004 to 2006 and on preparing work within the Commission and the other institutions. In particular we will need to make sure that the acquis is fully implemented throughout the European legal area as from day one following accession. More generally, a thorough look at all our policies is needed to take account of the quantitative and, even more so, the qualitative aspects of the new environment we will be working in after enlargement.
An EU of 25 Member States takes us into a new dimension. We are setting in motion a new social project for the whole of Europe, a project that calls for strong popular support.
The integration process that started in western European - the original ‘European idea’ - is turning into a plan to unify the continent.
Enlarging the EU calls for a new philosophy of international relations. It means carrying through an internal reform process that affects all facets of society in the candidate countries.
Enlargement will further accentuate our unity and our diversity - the shared values and distinguishing traits that characterise the EU. The European integration process and Europe's recent history are an acknowledgement of the points we share and those that set us apart. Enlargement will mark the first attempt to create a new type of citizenship on a continental scale. And it will bring a huge increase in citizens' rights and power for the States.
So I would like to express my warm thanks publicly to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who made enlargement the top priority of the Danish Presidency.
As we carry through this great joint endeavour, as we stand on the brink of our continent's peaceful unification, we must send a clear message to those States that are not involved in this process but that look to the EU with great expectations. I am thinking of the Balkans. We must tell them that the EU's door is open and we hope to invite them in as soon as possible. We must be clear and unambiguous on this point, on the prospect of membership, and not play tactical games. And we must tell them clearly too that the timetable depends on their determination to carry through the reforms needed for full membership. Our task is to support them in their efforts, setting out a joint agenda that makes instruments and adequate resources available to them and harnessing the full potential of the stabilisation and association process. It is a huge challenge we must respond to adequately.
Enlargement also means laying the foundations for clearer relations between the new enlarged EU and our nearest neighbours. Our enlargement strategy and our neighbourhood policy are closely intertwined. We must be able to show that enlargement does not mean excluding those not contemplated by the enlargement strategy, that it does not entail building new walls or erecting new barriers. We need to set about defining more clearly what we mean by a special relationship with the regions near the enlarged EU's borders, stretching from Russia to the shores of the Mediterranean.
The proposed solution for Kaliningrad, for example, is an important element in our relationship with the Russian Federation, a relationship we need to develop and consolidate. Enlargement is also a terrific opportunity to redefine our role in the world, a chance to devise a new type of political regionalism by reorganising our continent spatially.
From this new perspective, the basic issues on the table at the European Convention are becoming ever more urgent and we need to tackle them resolutely and courageously. Agreement on the outstanding financial issues does not rule out the need to think about the Community budget. Or to consider whether it is transparent, easy to understand and capable of meeting the new challenges facing us. We have to define the type of resources the EU needs and strengthen the role of Parliament.
The difficulties encountered in ratifying the Treaty of Nice - fortunately now behind us - should not blind us to the need for democratic participation, simplification and greater legitimacy - aims we must seek to achieve through institutional reform. The work the Convention has done - in particular the document its chairman presented recently - is an important contribution and provides a reference for future proposals. I will be talking to you about this topic in the near future.
Thank you.
We have been given a mandate to conclude the accession negotiations with ten countries by the end of the year. This gesture by the Council shows great openness towards the ten candidate countries. It demonstrates confidence in them and recognition of the efforts made by their governments, parliaments and civil society in recent years. So we are very pleased for a variety of reasons.
At the Council, all Member State governments took a step closer to what I believe to be an historic goal. I also want to stress the solidarity the Brussels Council showed towards the candidate countries, which still need financial help to approach the level of development of the rest of the continent.
Brussels was the result of constant effort day after day that enabled us to rebut the gloomiest forecasts and to overcome, one by one, all the major obstacles to Europe's unification.
So ten years on, another crucial chapter of our shared history will be written at Copenhagen.
The European Council also gave its backing to the Commission's recommendations on Bulgaria and Romania and approved the target date of 2007 those countries set themselves for accession. We will be proposing the measures needed to draw up a new roadmap and to step up financial assistance and at Copenhagen the European Council will be able to take a decision on these.
In addition, our Regular Report on Turkey was approved: at Copenhagen the European Council will decide on the next stage of Turkey's application on this basis. The elections that have just taken place in Turkey make it all the more necessary to decide at Copenhagen on directions for this new stage.
There is no time to waste. Last week we presented the conclusions of the Brussels Council to the representatives of the candidate countries. Let me stress that we are not putting a package to the candidates and telling them to take it or leave it: acceptable compromises are clearly possible."@en1
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