Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-10-Speech-3-166"
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"en.20040310.4.3-166"2
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"Mr President, when speaking on Estonia earlier, I praised, in their absence, its former Prime Minister Mart Laar and its Foreign Minister Ilves for their consistent policy of reform at home and, in foreign affairs, their aligning of their country with Europe. Now the two of them are sitting here beside me, so once again, I will express my thanks and appreciation for what they have done.
As shadow rapporteur for Lithuania, I was particularly pleased by the high degree of approval – over 91% – in the referendum on accession to the EU, but also by the country’s high level of economic growth in recent years, which alone has made it possible to raise the funding that is needed if the social problems of transformation are to be solved.
Lithuania, though, is also a very pertinent example of the continuing tensions between democratic institutions and the Mafia elements that are attempting to exert influence at the very highest levels of the state. Where this is concerned, I have confidence in the independence of Lithuania’s constitutional court; I am also optimistic that the Lithuanian parliament’s investigations with a view to removing the present President from office will produce results commensurate with the requirements of the rule of law.
It is perhaps this very point, among others, that I find lacking in Romania, and many speakers, including those who spoke this morning have already addressed this. Perhaps not only the small-time players should be punished, but also the Mister Bigs. In Romania, too, corruption and nepotism go right up to the very top; that is one reason why the country has fallen so far behind, while another is that too few changes of personnel were made after the political change. The revolution was not a complete success. The simple fact is that many of the old structures are still in place – not only at the highest level, but also at others.
If the criticism is justified, then it is equally right that we should express our support and our willingness to help, but the main thing is that the work has to be done in the country itself, and sometimes the clearing-out has to start right at the top."@en1
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