Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-19-Speech-2-171"
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"en.20021119.2.2-171"2
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"Mr President, I absolutely agree with what Mr Arvidsson has just said with regard to Turkey. Turkey has improved its human rights situation and its legal praxis in a way that is worthy of our respect. I think it is very unfortunate, however, that it has been suggested that there should be a change of policy. Our message to Ankara should remain the same as it has been the whole time, which is that EU membership is open to all European countries provided that the criteria for accession are satisfied.
With enlargement, the Internal Market, which is the EU’s core mechanism, will grow larger, which will improve the EU’s chances of success in the global markets. In the pauses between the celebratory speeches, however, we have to remember that achieving a viable Internal Market required and will require, in the future too, great effort on the part of all concerned. For that very reason, the Copenhagen criteria also include the requirement that there is competitiveness within the Internal Market.
I agree with the rapporteur, Mr Brok, that there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Making political decisions is easier than bringing about changes in the economic structure. The timetable for 2004 is a tight one. It is difficult to implement economic structural reforms at times but we have to keep to the commitments that have been made. We have to ensure in particular that the future Member States have the administrative and legal capacity for operating as part of the Internal Market.
Our job as politicians is to guarantee that the Internal Market will function successfully after enlargement. This means that the work cannot stop with Copenhagen. Even after accession the new Member States will have to continue with their policies of reform. The internal reforms the applicant countries implement will nevertheless increase the prosperity and stability of their societies in the long term. The European Parliament will also have to monitor the situation and ensure that the present Member States, the Commission and the future Member States each play their part in completing the enlargement process."@en1
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