Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-05-Speech-3-045"
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"en.20031105.6.3-045"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the acceding countries, the top priority of my Commission, the absolute top priority is about to become a reality. Less than six months from now we will see the biggest enlargement in the Union’s history.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, before closing, I would like to mention the Balkan region. Croatia has already presented its membership application and the Commission is now looking at Zagreb's replies
a huge number of replies
to the questionnaire sent to it at the beginning of the summer. Other countries in the region intend to follow Croatia's example shortly. Our response to these countries needs to be discerning and far-sighted and we must make it clear that the prospects of membership are genuine and that we commit ourselves to accompanying them along this common road, even though the stringent criteria we have always adopted still stand.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, history has vindicated the vision of Europe's founding fathers: the original Six that had just emerged from the war are now 25
free, strong countries
and they will, no doubt, number more than 30 in the future. In a few months, our family will have 10 new members. With their enthusiasm, we will be able to enhance our Union and give it new horizons. We must extend it too and, together, all working together, we can uphold and assert more firmly the values on which it is founded.
Mr President, with your permission, I will now give the floor to Commissioner Verheugen, whom I would like to thank once again for his extraordinarily astute work and his remarkable commitment to this project.
The presence in this House of the representatives of the countries that are going to join the Union next year is a tangible sign of how important that event is. First, let me say how much I admire the governments and peoples you represent. Over the past few years, you have moved heaven and earth to bring your legal and administrative systems into line with the
These reforms demonstrate your strong desire for freedom and democracy. Indeed, you have carried out a quiet revolution that is taking you into the European Union with your heads held high, proud of your achievements.
Before the membership negotiations closed last year, I announced that the Commission would be presenting a report on the preparedness of the acceding Member States about six months before they actually joined. Today, I am here, together with Commissioner Verheugen
whom I would like to thank for his remarkable work
to present that report to you. The Comprehensive Monitoring Report adopted by the College this morning is the fruit of lengthy, painstaking efforts by the Commission, which has been monitoring and supporting the acceding countries' preparations for years. It is based on the 10 reports prepared by the Commission, one on each country, which are also available to you. These reports draw on all the Commission's expertise in the various areas of the
. They will also be the last such reports the Commission will prepare on the acceding countries, although we will continue to follow up the issues still outstanding over the coming months. This means we are no longer in the pre-accession phase. As from today, the Commission is starting to exercise its customary institutional role as guardian of the Treaties with regard to the new Member States too.
I will shortly ask Commissioner Verheugen to outline in detail the Commission’s findings in the Comprehensive Monitoring Report, but let me first make some general remarks. The official accession date for the ten new Member States is 1 May 2004, but the prospect of enlargement has already had positive effects. The European Union is increasingly becoming a reference in many countries for the development of civil society and political life. No other
and I repeat, no other
player on the world stage can boast the same drawing power. The reason is clear. The Union has succeeded in putting the highest ideals into practice: peace, on which we have founded our Union; democracy, which we defend through all our policies; greater opportunities for economic prosperity and solidarity towards the least-favoured regions and groups. Why our model is so successful today is also clear. On its own, each country would be at the mercy of greater and more powerful political and economic entities, but, united, we can direct the process with due regard for democracy and the human dimension.
I am convinced that the accession of the new Member States next year will bring no great problems in terms of implementing the
where either the single market or the other Community policies are concerned. Of course, there are still issues to resolve
clearly outlined, moreover, in the report
including some very important ones, but I am confident that all these countries will overcome these last remaining obstacles. The 10 governments are perfectly aware that any shortcoming in any area would deprive them of the benefits of accession in that sector, in terms of both financial transfers and market access. If problems still remain after accession, the Commission will do its duty, as it always has, and will take the necessary steps. In any case – I must stress – I do not envisage any major obstacles to the conclusion of this process.
Indeed, all the issues we have identified are manageable and we have the instruments for the purpose. Moreover, it is in everyone's interest for the Union to absorb this enlargement as quickly and smoothly as possible because there are many other issues facing the Union and many other goals we must achieve, including the Intergovernmental Conference and the smooth functioning of our institutions in an enlarged Union, the Lisbon strategy, the new Financial Perspective, the completion of the enlargement process and the ring of friends policy
the Wider Europe policy. These will be the real challenges for the enlarged Union of 25 Member States.
One of our tasks will thus be the continuation of the enlargement process. As I have often said, this is a continuous, inclusive, irreversible process. Our common target is to carry through the accession process for Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. Considerable progress has been recorded in these two countries as well this year, and Commissioner Verheugen is going to say a few words on this too. The accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania have moved forward significantly and it is time to think about a framework for finalising them. These negotiations must be based on the same criteria as those observed by all the other countries, and, of course, in particular, what is known as the principle of own merit. At the beginning of next year, the Commission will point the way to finalising the negotiations by presenting a proposal for a financial offer for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Everyone agrees that these negotiations must not depend on the outcome of the debate on the new Financial Perspective or the debate on future reforms – we have always kept these issues separate – and, to prevent this happening, we need to take as a benchmark the financial framework worked out for the ten acceding countries. On this I am counting on Parliament's support, and I intend to involve Parliament fully in this next phase in the process.
Next year will be decisive for Turkey. Indeed, this will be one of the last big decisions that it will fall to my Commission to take in this term of office. It will involve assessing Turkey's progress in meeting the Copenhagen political criteria and issuing a recommendation as regards the opening of accession negotiations. Let me make one point very clear in this respect: it is this Commission that will present the Regular Report on Turkey and the recommendation in autumn 2004. That was the undertaking I gave at Copenhagen last year and we will keep our promise.
We have followed developments in Turkey very carefully over the past year. There has been considerable progress that shows the determination of the Turkish Government to leave no stone unturned in their efforts to meet the political criteria for membership. We will be watching further developments closely in the areas where progress is still needed, as regards both legislation and the actual implementation of the new rights and freedoms to which the Turkish people are entitled thanks to the reforms undertaken. Lastly, let me reiterate the Union’s desire to see Cyprus accede as a unified country. We continue to hope this will happen. Clearly, it is in Turkey’s interest, too, to reach a settlement quickly, because this would prevent the Cyprus issue from becoming an obstacle to its own aspirations. The issue can still be settled before 1 May next year on the basis of the UN Secretary-General's proposal. All parties concerned must contribute to this process and the Commission stands ready to assist in every possible way."@en1
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