Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-184"
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"en.20041215.6.3-184"2
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".
Madam President, Bulgaria will become a Member State with many unresolved issues. Old environmental problems, resulting from mining and nuclear waste, are still left unresolved. Much damage is being done by construction work for new roads through protected scenic areas and by the expansion of the largest airport. These days, poor maintenance, decay and poverty are noticeable throughout Bulgaria. The Roma people are still lagging behind and disadvantaged. EU funding for the benefit of projects for this group of people is divided and spent in a contentious manner.
In the minds of many Bulgarians, the nearby Greek and Roman coasts belong, in fact, to Bulgaria, just as do the greater part of the Republic of Macedonia and a few areas on the border with Serbia. The fact that the Bulgarian electorate still has not made any steady choices is apparent from the rapid changes within the two main rivalling political parties, and, above all, from the fact that a newcomer to the most recent general elections achieved almost the majority of the votes. Shortly after the surprising election as Prime Minister of the country’s former King, the candidate of the Communists’ successors was elected President. This instability has, however, produced one positive development in the form of greater involvement in political decision-making of the Turkish minority, which was discriminated against in the past.
Unlike in Romania, the problems in Bulgaria are no bigger than those in a number of the present EU Member States. That is why it is right to allow Bulgaria full EU membership from 2007. There is a strong historical and linguistic bond between Bulgaria and the Slavonic-speaking part of Macedonia. In 1878, last-minute Western European intervention prevented the two from uniting. It would be useful if the negotiations about Macedonia’s accession – for which the Committee on Foreign Affairs has appointed me as rapporteur – were to run parallel with Croatia, which also has its roots in former Yugoslavia, so that we can welcome the Bulgarians and Macedonians to the European Union simultaneously."@en1
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