Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-26-Speech-4-148"
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"en.20040226.8.4-148"2
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".
Mr President
distinguished Members of the European Parliament, distinguished observers, I would like to thank you for your invitation and the opportunity to address the European Parliament at its plenary session today.
I know that you are interested in our position vis-à-vis the Hague Tribunal. I want to state resolutely and unequivocally that we consider cooperation with the ICTY to be in the interest of all of us living in what was once Yugoslavia. Such cooperation makes it possible to individualise guilt and to prosecute individuals for crimes committed during the war. This is the only way to end the practice of collective guilt, whereby the crimes committed by individuals are shifted onto the whole nation.
It is therefore important to bring to justice all persons who committed crimes or were involved in them in some other way, thus putting an end to accusations of whole nations. I expect that once the reform of the judiciary is completed, the Croatian courts will be ready to adjudicate in war crime cases. I believe that soon all outstanding cases will be dealt with before Croatian courts of law.
The fate of refugees and displaced persons is still painful. As regards their return, Croatia uses every opportunity to secure their return to the Republic of Croatia, regardless of their ethnicity. But being a country in transition, Croatia is facing numerous problems caused by this return. The reconstruction of buildings, which is a necessary precondition for return, is not proceeding as fast as we would like it to.
The state has provided the money for housing reconstruction, but this is not all. The returnees need not only housing but also employment, so that they may earn a livelihood for themselves and their families. The Croatian Government, together with the representatives of the international community, has engaged in programmes of return for citizens of Serbian nationality. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have agreed on measures to accelerate the return of refugees and displaced persons.
There are areas in which successes have been achieved and we are justly proud of that. One such area is regional cooperation. On the bilateral plane, we have in recent years normalised our relations with Serbia and Montenegro. We have bilateral cooperation schemes with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we are engaged in intensive political dialogue with all the other countries in the region. Economic cooperation has also been making progress in recent years. In order to facilitate the flow of people, goods and services, the visa regime with most of the countries in the region has been liberalised.
Although we are optimists, we are aware of political and security challenges in the region. The only way to address them that I can see are through democratically-elected governments with a pro-European orientation. But merely paying lip service to Europe is not sufficient. More than anything else, it is necessary to prove such an orientation through action and commitment to European democratic standards. The example of Croatia, as a stable country in the region, proves this point. Closer cooperation of south-eastern European countries with the European Union will have a positive effect on the stability of the whole region. The Republic of Croatia is ready to take an active role in the region and to transmit its experience to other countries.
The Zagreb Summit, which took place almost four years ago, was a turning point for the region. Last year's Thessaloniki Summit and the documents adopted there affirmed the European future for the Stabilisation and Association Process – SAP – countries. We, too, support all the steps taken to achieve the stated objectives. The new instruments and mechanisms such as European Partnerships, Twinning, Taiex, and participation in the Community programmes which are now available to countries involved in the Stabilisation and Association Process, will complement the existing efforts in the framework of the CARDS Programme. Such instruments represent essential and welcome assistance to those who aspire to become members of the European Union, and the Republic of Croatia is prepared to make the best use of them and of other pre-accession instruments.
As regards the European Parliament, I am pleased to note that the relations between it and the countries in the region intensified following the visit by President Cox to the SAP countries in autumn 2003. The Republic of Croatia is especially grateful to President Cox for his invitation to the SAP countries to participate in the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments, held in Budapest in February. We see our participation at this conference as a signal that the process of enlargement will continue after 1 May this year.
From the very beginning, Croatia has advocated an individual approach, i.e. the assessment of the country's own merits. We believe that Croatia's example and its accelerated progress towards the membership of the EU will encourage other southern European countries to tackle the key issues that are now an obstacle on their way towards the European Union. The European Parliament will soon take a decision on the future of the Delegation for Relations with the Countries of south-east Europe. I would like to use this opportunity to express our unreserved support for the establishment of an individual delegation of the European Parliament for cooperation with the Republic of Croatia. I would expect that such a delegation should be established after the new European Parliament has been elected. Such a decision would confirm a new, advanced stage of relations between the Republic of Croatia and the EU. It would also help to intensify the dialogue between the Croatian Parliament and the European Parliament. We very much hope that the experience in relations with the current candidate countries will be used in deciding on the future of the European Parliament delegations to the SAP countries.
Unfortunately, my presentation has to begin with sad news. This morning, Mr Boris Trajkovski, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, was killed in an air crash. It is a human loss which not only hit his family and the Republic of Macedonia, but will also have political consequences for the situation in the region.
The new situation following enlargement opens a new era for the SAP countries. We will become next-door neighbours. The increased technical assistance by the European Parliament to the parliaments of the SAP countries – as was the practice in the case of the present candidate countries – is a welcome contribution to the development potential of these countries. This would be the appropriate response to the challenges of the process of enlargement.
The Republic of Croatia has a high esteem for the support of the European Parliament and for the understanding it has shown for its efforts to get closer to the European Union. One of the visible signs of such support was the ratification by the European Parliament of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which took place only a month and a half after its signing. This meant explicit support for the Republic of Croatia, but it was also a message to the EU Member States to start the process of ratification in the national parliaments.
In its resolutions, the European Parliament has repeatedly welcomed Croatia's application for EU membership, thus also showing its support for Croatia's intentions and goals.
After 1 May 2004, the European Union will have 25 Member States and a human potential of 450 million inhabitants. The figures are impressive! But we should not forget that the unification of Europe will not be completed until all the SAP countries become members of the European Union and until Europe is united within its geographical borders.
The only way to remove instability in south-east Europe is EU membership. Once the borders which provoked the recent bloody war in south-east Europe are removed, the question of who lives on which side of the borders becomes irrelevant. Only a united Europe is capable of eliminating war as a political tool for the resolution of conflicts and to direct countries in the region towards a more prosperous future.
On the other hand, the forthcoming enlargement will enable the European Union, based on the institutional cooperation of equal partners, to play an important and more active role on the international scene. United, Europe can face economic challenges from the Far East or from the United States. A strong, integrated and united structure, it can confront the global challenges of the present age, of which the most important is to combat terrorism, but also include the fight against organised crime, corruption, smuggling and drugs trafficking. It can play a significant role in the system of world peace and security, but also offer humanitarian, technological and economic assistance to those countries and nations that need help.
It may be appropriate at this point to say a few words about the wider context of the enlargement of the Union. I find it difficult to accept the concept of a 'new Europe' and an 'old Europe', which maintains the conflicting nature of the process of the EU's enlargement to the countries in transition. As I see it, what we are witnessing is the emergence of a 'coming Europe' – that is a better description – a concept that rather than being conducive to internal European and trans-Atlantic differences, builds a European Union of the future based on the good traditions of the 'Europe of the past'.
This 'coming Europe' can offer young democracies at least two good reasons to for joining it: political stability and economic competitiveness. For Croatia, these two reasons are sufficient to dispel all doubts about the benefits of European unification.
The Republic of Croatia expects to join the European Union soon. Croatia has always been part of Europe – culturally, historically and geographically. But, by political circumstance, it distanced itself from it for a time. By developing new standards, we are now trying to build Croatia on the values of those nations in which democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech, respect for minority rights and the human rights are viewed as the inheritance of the past decades. We do not see democracy as a static level of achievement, but rather as a continuous process, as a constant advance towards new horizons of freedom.
We look upon the European Union as a family of diverse members who all work together, a community in which the interests of each nation are respected, while cooperation is developed on the basis of solidarity. Croatia wishes to enrich this community of values with its own cultural, linguistic and national identity. We want to live with you in the co-existence of diversity, but we would like to remind you also, boasting a little, that Croatia is one of the few oases of ecologically-preserved nature in present-day Europe.
This afternoon I was supposed to meet Boris Trajkovski at a conference on investment in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Together with him and the Presidents of other states we were working on the programme of stabilisation and reconciliation in south-eastern Europe. Boris will now not be with us today in Mostar, but we shall continue the work. This will be the best way to continue on our joint road. I do not believe that this accident will affect future procedures or the integration of the Republic of Macedonia into the EU.
Croatia is closely following various discussions at European level which will provide the basis for the future shape of the European Union. Although Croatia did not take part in the European Convention, we followed its deliberations with great interest. Equally, we followed the work of the Intergovernmental Conference. We are convinced that, despite difficulties, the Member States will overcome their differences and reach an agreement on the Constitutional Treaty that will make the enlarged European Union efficient and capable of responding to the challenges it faces, thus securing a more active and important role for it in the international arena. We also hope that the constitutional arrangements will allow smooth integration of the states participating in further enlargements.
We also take great interest in the discussions on the next financial perspective, which should truly reflect the proclaimed strategic goals of the European Union and enable their full implementation. In particular, we would like to point to the need to allocate adequate financial resources enabling rapprochement with, and integration of, the countries which will become candidates or new Member States. Croatia hopes that in this respect the European Commission, the European Parliament and the current Member States will demonstrate a long-term vision.
We believe that the new constitutional and budgetary framework must reflect the true nature of the commitment to include all European states in the European family, thus ensuring the further advancement of the European integration project, which would include Croatia, as well as other SAP countries.
As a country that aspires to join the European Union in the not-too-distant future, the Republic of Croatia has an interest in joining a strong and effective Union that will meet the demands of all its citizens. In such a Union, the role of parliaments and parliamentary cooperation will be of vital importance.
As an applicant country, Croatia reckons with the institutional capability of the Union to accept new members in the next round of enlargement. Croatia also follows with interest the discussions between the European Union and NATO on security issues. We highly appreciate the adoption of the European security strategy. We see this as a strategy that will enable the European Union to face the threats and global challenges, thus contributing to the multilateral system of security, as well as to its more active involvement in some parts of south-east Europe. We support the effective multilateralism as a concept that needs to be strengthened in the world facing the dangers and challenges like those of the present day.
I would like to stress that the Republic of Croatia strongly relies on the European Parliament as an institution that will support its integration into the EU. I am convinced that in its recommendation to the Council on the application by Croatia for membership of the EU, the European Parliament will recognise the progress made by Croatia in fulfilling the Copenhagen and other relevant criteria and the reforms that are taking place in the country.
I am equally convinced that the recommendation of the European Parliament will give an impetus to the other European institutions and Member States to adopt a positive stance on the Croatian application. Here I refer to the forthcoming Opinion by the European Commission, which we hope will be published in spring. This would enable the European Council in June to take new strategic political decisions on Croatia. Naturally, the Croatian authorities and the citizens of my country are looking ahead to a candidate status and opening of the accession negotiations.
Distinguished Members of the European Parliament, you are entering the final session of your term of office. In June there will be elections, in which most citizens of Europe will take part. Their broad participation will contribute to the strengthening of the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. I am convinced that the citizens of Croatia will soon be in a position to vote in the elections for the European Parliament and that Croatian MPs will be able to take up their seats in the European Parliament.
Although we are not a numerically large nation, we bring you the joys of the Mediterranean, the civilised values of Central Europe, the toughness of hard stone, the serenity of the Slavonian plains and above all, the open and noble heart and outstretched hands of friendship and co-operation.
We hope, expect and know that in the final analysis the well-known words of Robert Schuman will prevail: 'We do not unify countries, we unite people.'
It gives me great pleasure to speak before you on behalf of the Republic of Croatia at an important point in time for my country, as well as for the future of the EU: the day approaches when all real and imaginary curtains in Europe will fall – this time, we hope, forever.
Let me say at the outset, clearly and resolutely: membership of the EU is the chief foreign policy objective of the Republic of Croatia. I am pleased to note that all the elements of the state authority have reached political consensus in this matter: the Croatian Parliament, the government and the President of the Republic. This objective was reasserted by a resolution of the Croatian Parliament adopted in December 2002, followed by the application for EU membership, submitted a year ago, in February 2003. This strategic goal enjoys the support of the political parties and public opinion. This places an even greater obligation on the political leadership of the country, as well as on all the strata of Croatian society, whose active participation in this effort is vital.
Our goal is Europe, but not just membership of the EU. Our primary objective is to reach and maintain the standards that prevail in Europe. We are fully aware of the difficulties that this adjustment entails. However, the adjustment is necessary, so that one day Croatia may actively participate in European institutions as an equal member. The experience and help of other states in this regard will prove invaluable.
Like some of the countries that will soon become full EU members, Croatia gained its independence and sovereignty only recently. Like them, it had to face the demanding and costly process of political, economic and social transition. But unlike these countries, Croatia had to face, in its recent past, a war imposed upon it. The ravages of war have left deep wounds – primarily in people, but also in huge material losses. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and an equal number were left homeless.
Croatia was thus in a position to face new challenges: the reconstruction of buildings in hundreds of towns, villages and hamlets and the de-mining of thousands of square kilometres of land. In addition, we had to achieve something that the EU members stressed as especially important: the establishment of trust and confidence, tolerance and co-existence leading to a lasting reconciliation. This was the task that was by far the most difficult, as it required we politicians to take clear and firm positions and decisions.
I want to state very clearly that we are fully conscious of our duty to fulfil our obligations. We are working on the reform of public administration, the harmonisation of legislation, and the involvement of all our potential in the adjustment of the system. I assure you that we want to cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, and that we want to continue working on the return of refugees, a reform of the judiciary, the protection of minorities and regional cooperation. Many of you are aware of our bilateral initiatives in relation to our neighbours, as well as our active participation in regional organisations, such as the Stability Pact, the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the Central European Initiative and the Quadrilateral. We see this task less and less as a heavy burden and more as tasks on which we should be working with perseverance to reach the European standards as soon as possible."@en1
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"President of the Republic of Croatia"1
"Stjepan Mesic,"1
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