Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-18-Speech-3-058"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20021218.3.3-058"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, the Danish presidency set itself an extremely ambitious agenda for the Copenhagen Summit.
As a result, two fraught days were spent in Copenhagen negotiating a financial package, with divisions at one stage threatening to stall proceedings. However, once this had been resolved, the EU formally invited eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe, plus Cyprus and Malta, to join in 2004. This was a momentous occasion in European history, finally bringing to an end the divisions created by the Cold War.
However, it must be said that enlargement is not yet complete. Negotiations have still to be concluded with Bulgaria and Romania and have yet to begin with Turkey.
I endorse the commitment given at the Copenhagen Summit to start the negotiations with Turkey in 2004, subject, of course, to a review on progress on human rights and rule of law issues. I have consistently argued that the accession of Turkey could form an important bridgehead between East and West and help consolidate Turkey as a secular democracy and a calming force in an otherwise unstable region.
As a result of these momentous decisions, our new neighbours will be Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Now is the time to consider what sort of relationship we want to develop with these countries and how far we want it to go.
In conclusion, I am pleased that the recent uncertainty regarding the timetable for enlargement, which was partly due to our rejection of the Treaty of Nice in the first Irish referendum, has been removed. It will now proceed in May 2004, ironically under the Irish presidency and indeed, Mr President, during your final six months as President of this Parliament. I look forward to welcoming the new accession countries into the EU family on that historic occasion."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples