Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-10-Speech-3-155"
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"en.20040310.4.3-155"2
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"Mr President, today, we are holding the concluding debate on the accession of ten candidates to the European Union. For none of those ten countries has a date been set, and so they are encouraged to consider themselves wholly responsible for the success of the accession process.
There are still two candidates, Romania and Bulgaria, that having further to row to the finishing line, and Romania is lagging behind the most. The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats wholeheartedly endorses the report by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, which we see as an important contribution to highlighting any problems Romania is left with, particularly in a bid to meet the political criteria of Copenhagen. This is Romania's own responsibility: the key to success lies in Bucharest, as the Commissioner has already stated.
This list of problems has prompted the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy to send a unanimous warning to Bucharest. The tone was clear enough to wake up the Romanian Government. A reorientation of the process is what is now called for.
Initially, there was a large-scale lobby campaign on the part of the Romanian Government, with the message that reorientation was unnecessary. Much more constructive was the more recent list by Romania's Prime Minister stating tasks yet to be done, as well as the recent Cabinet reforms, in order to give the negotiations with the EU more chance of success. In this way, a foundation has been laid for observing the obligations of Copenhagen.
We are very pleased that the Council and Commission share Parliament's concern. As the prospect of enlargement on 1 May instils fear of the unknown among the European citizens – as the Commissioner has already pointed out – we should apply the greatest possible care in dealing with the later accessions. The public must be really convinced that the candidate Member States offer them the same certainties as the 15 current Member States.
Corruption, about which humanitarian organisations in our countries receive many complaints, the freedom of press, also the subject of many complaints, problems with the judiciary and child care: these are the major points that need to be discussed and resolved as a matter of priority. The many letters they have sent indicate that this approach has sparked a great deal of enthusiasm among the citizens in Romania. It is important to show them that we are concerned about their fate. In this light, the contribution by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne is crucial."@en1
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