Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-12-Speech-2-172"
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"en.20050412.27.2-172"2
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".
Mr President, in the past five years under various governments we have seen an intensification of political, economic and social reform in Bulgaria during its negotiations for European Union membership. I have had the honour and pleasure of acting as Parliament’s rapporteur for Bulgaria throughout this period. Bulgaria is now on the brink of accession. The most important role now to be performed by Parliament is to give its assent to Bulgaria’s application to become a Member State of the European Union. I trust that tomorrow Parliament will warmly endorse the recommendation for accession.
This is an exciting time for Bulgaria. We are on the eve of the assent vote for Bulgaria’s accession and I strongly urge the House to vote in favour.
The process of modernisation does not stop with the signature of the Accession Treaty, which we hope will take place on 25 April.
I note that the Accession Treaty for Bulgaria, and, indeed, Romania, differs from the treaties with the previous group of accession countries in two important respects. Firstly, there are the ‘safeguard clauses’, which would allow accession to be delayed by up to a year in certain circumstances. To my mind it is unfortunate that Bulgaria has been caught in the wake of concerns that are more acute in relation to another country. I have always insisted that Bulgaria should be judged on its own merits, in which case the invocation of safeguard clauses should be seen as a remote possibility. Nevertheless, they are a reminder that much still remains to be done in terms of modernisation and the practical implementation of legislation. It is only right that Parliament be fully involved in any consideration of application of the safeguard clauses. The Commission, therefore, must take full account of Parliament’s views and I understand that Commissioner Rehn will give us further reassurance on this point.
The second difference is that ratification of the European Constitution becomes concurrent with ratification of the Accession Treaty. On a personal note, I should point out that my reservations about this are mollified by my expectation that the Constitution will fail, and so blushes will be spared.
I have just returned from Sofia. There is a pre-election mood in the country. All the political parties are in favour of EU accession and well understand that there is much work still to be done. The next government will have to mobilise resources and demonstrate real political determination to bring about the necessary reforms, in particular of the judiciary and the police services. There must be public confidence in the effectiveness and impartiality of the fight against corruption, organised crime and trafficking. The pre-trial phase and the role of the Public Prosecutor are two particular concerns that must be further addressed.
There are many other issues. The integration of the Roma community remains a priority. This is a matter of resources and political will on the part of government and motivation on the part of the Roma community to adapt to the norms of mainstream society. I am not convinced by an amendment to my report calling for some new regulatory body with all its inevitable bureaucracy.
On the subject of Kozloduy, the Bulgarian authorities, assisted by the international community, have introduced exceptional safety measures and responded positively to the requirement for closure of certain units. A little flexibility should now be shown in return, bearing in mind the important contribution Bulgaria makes to regional energy needs. I am encouraged by the decision of the Bulgarian Government to relaunch the construction of the second nuclear power plant at Belene.
On 30 March members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs voted overwhelmingly for the text of my report as it now stands and I, therefore, do not recommend further amendment.
Finally, on a separate but nevertheless important matter, I welcome the invitation by Libya for a visit by the President of Bulgaria. I hope this will lead to the early release of the Bulgarian and Palestinian health workers arrested in 1999 and now under sentence of death. At the same time, we strongly support the practical assistance being given by the European Union to help relieve the suffering of children affected by HIV."@en1
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