Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-177"
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"en.20050223.15.3-177"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, since the Orange Revolution, the European Parliament has been paying more and more attention to its neighbours in the east. Today’s resolution confirms that the bold decision, made on 13 January, to offer EU membership to Ukraine was not made hastily.
The Moldova resolution is well balanced. We both confirm our support and indicate our understanding of complex situation in the region. Moldova’s territorial integrity has been breached: contrary to the wishes of the democratically elected government, foreign troops – the Russian army – are stationed there. By the way, it is ironic that today, 23 February, is the day that the Soviet Union’s vassal states, Estonia and Moldova included, were for decades required to celebrate as Soviet Army and Navy Day.
The European Union is ready to support the Moldovans, both in the process of European integration and in the restoration of their territorial integrity. The European Union, within the framework of the European Security
and Defence Policy – ESDP – must also be prepared to support border control between the Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria and Ukraine. Today’s speech in Parliament by the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko gives us cause to believe that Ukraine considers the solution of the Transnistria problem to be a serious issue.
The democracy of the Moldovan elections does not just depend on how the votes are counted. The elections are not democratic unless all political parties have fair and equal access to the media during the election campaign. I am referring here to Teleradio Moldova airtime. At the same time, opportunities for election advertising, both on the streets and in the media, must be made available. This is the minimum; without this, we cannot declare the elections on 6 March to be democratic.
The European Union must be prepared to treat Moldova on equal terms with Ukraine. I do not see any reasons why the European Parliament should not support Moldova’s European Union membership prospects during the democratic and economic reform processes. The first Copenhagen criterion – democracy – is, of course, a prerequisite for Europe’s support and cooperation, but the other two – a free market economy and the rule of law – are equally essential for Moldova. A clear position regarding these issues is necessary if we are to be honest with ourselves, with Europe, and with the Moldovans."@en1
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