Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-12-Speech-2-176"
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"en.20050412.27.2-176"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the founding fathers of the Community clearly stated in 1957 in the Treaty of Rome that they were, ‘determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’. In the preamble to this Treaty, the Member States call upon the other peoples of Europe – including the countries that were separated from it at the time – who share the same ideals of peace and liberty, to join in their project to build a united Europe. Tomorrow, by adopting the assents marking the completion of the Union’s fifth enlargement, comprising Bulgaria and Romania, the European Parliament will enable the Union to take a decisive step forward in the process of unifying our continent. This is a further stage in the unification process, the Bulgarian and Romanian nations thus regaining their place within this Europe, whose history, heritage and culture they share. These two countries will thus find their proper place in a continent open to culture, learning and social progress, as the preamble to the Constitution underlines.
The accession negotiations have not always been easy – as the Commission can certainly confirm – but I think that the results contained in the Accession Treaty are fair and appropriate and broadly in line with the results of the negotiations with the ten new Member States.
Bulgaria and Romania now have about twenty months to put the finishing touches to their preparations for accession. In its latest regular reports, the Commission considered that, given the progress made by these two countries, their track record in implementing their commitments and the preparatory work in progress, they should be ready to join the Union on 1 January 2007. The Commission confirmed this conclusion with its favourable opinion of 22 February on the accession of the two countries. The European Council considered that Bulgaria and Romania will be able to assume all of the obligations arising from accession, provided that the two countries continue their efforts within the time allowed, that they complete all of the necessary reforms and that they honour all of the commitments given in each of the areas of the
.
You are not unaware of the legitimate questions about the proper and timely implementation of the
in particular in the field of justice and home affairs, in Romania’s case, and also of the competition and environment policies. There is no short cut on the road to accession. The credibility of the process depends on the fact that each country can only join on the basis of the same political and economic criteria and its capacity to fulfil all of the obligations arising from membership. This implies the existence of the necessary administrative and judicial capacity to complete this task successfully.
Bulgaria and Romania are fully aware of what is expected of them as future Member States. Since the accession negotiations were opened, the Union has emphasised what accession to the European Union means: full acceptance of all of the rights and obligations, both current and potential, arising from the Union’s system and its institutional framework, including the Constitution – for which I am more optimistic – as well as the real and actual implementation of the
.
Looking at the reports of Mr Moscovici and Mr Van Orden on the applications for accession of Bulgaria and Romania, I am convinced that we share the same analysis that these two countries should be in a position to join the Union in January 2007 and to assume fully the obligations arising from their accession.
In the meantime, the Union will continue to support Bulgaria and Romania in their preparations by all the means at its disposal. Until the day of accession, the Europe Agreements, which were concluded in 1994, will remain in force. They have functioned properly and been a key tool for preparing Bulgaria and Romania for accession. But it is clear that it is incumbent on Bulgaria and Romania to make every effort to be ready. It would be impossible to underestimate what this means in economic, social and political terms, and the work done so far certainly deserves all our respect.
The European Union will continue to monitor carefully the preparations made by the two countries and the results achieved, including the actual implementation of their commitments. I can assure you that the Luxembourg Presidency takes the work of monitoring very seriously. In fact it is vital to the two countries’ own interests to be really ready. If they were not, they would run the risk of not being able to benefit fully from being members, if, for example, it were to prove necessary to invoke the safeguard clauses in certain sectors.
We are aware of the institutions’ respective roles in this context. Let us be quite clear about this: assuming assents from the European Parliament to the applications for accession by the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania, if the Commission submits a recommendation to the Council seeking to implement one of the safeguard clauses in the Accession Treaty, the Council’s decision will take due account of the position of the European Parliament.
The Council gives this assurance today to Parliament, which is right to wish to monitor developments in the two countries closely. As we have already heard, a letter to this effect has been sent by the President of the European Council to the President of the European Parliament. I would reiterate that enlargement can only succeed if it enjoys the broad support of the peoples of the Union. You represent these peoples. You represent the citizens of Europe. Your voice has to be listened to, your judgment deserves to be taken fully into account should any decisions have to be made about implementing safeguard clauses.
With this in mind, may I remind you that the work of the European Parliament does not end with your assent. Your political contribution to the enlargement process will continue to be valuable. We are grateful for the political support that you have lent to the process as it has unfolded, in particular by engaging in an open and constructive dialogue with your counterparts, the elected members of the Bulgarian and Romanian parliaments.
By giving your assent, you are making a vital contribution to a Europe without demarcation lines, a Europe of democracy, freedom, peace and progress, sharing the same values that have been embedded in the Constitution for Europe.
In conclusion, allow me to remind you that the historic project that you are debating today is the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. All of us agree that the accession of these two countries will constitute a decisive step towards putting the injustice and artificial division of Europe behind us.
I should now like to say a few words about the financial implications. Concerning the financing of this enlargement to 27 countries with Bulgaria and Romania, I should like to remind you that the negotiations with these two countries have been conducted on the same basis and in accordance with the same principles as those that were applied to the ten new Member States. On the basis of a proposal from the Commission, the Member States have approved a financial package setting out the only identifiable expenditure in favour of these two countries, which will cover a period of three years, as was the case for the ten. Afterwards it is the
that will apply, including the next financial perspective. It is a question of justice and fair treatment, but also of predictability for the two countries. We cannot negotiate without putting the cards on the table, particularly where the financial aspects are concerned for the first difficult steps that they will take as Member States.
It is clear that, given the date envisaged for the accession of these two countries, the situation in which we find ourselves is different from that experienced by the ten new Member States. For this reason, we already established an essential principle at the Thessaloniki European Council: discussions on the future political reforms or the new financial perspective must not stand in the way of continuing or concluding the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania. In the same way, the results of these negotiations must not prejudge the discussions or agreement on the political reforms or the new financial perspective.
Like you, I regret that it was not possible to reach an agreement between the Council and Parliament. We were very close to an agreement. Was it the jangling of nerves – particularly, I think, in the Council, to be fair – before the difficult negotiations on the financial perspective, which prevented us from reaching this agreement? I would like to reiterate clearly that there may have been some misunderstandings. Perhaps certain technical considerations prevailed over a positive political approach. I can assure you, on behalf of the Presidency, that, for us, the European Parliament’s institutional and budgetary powers and competences are in no way called into question by the proposals tabled, and that the interinstitutional agreement remains fully valid. I cannot promise, as Mr Böge has asked, to seek an agreement on a declaration even before the agreement is signed, but we will make one final effort to do so, and who knows?
Furthermore, the accession of these two countries to the Union is first and foremost an accession to these values, to this European model to which the citizens of Europe, all European citizens, are attached.
Our most noble ambition, shared by the citizens of these two countries, who have won back their freedom after almost five decades of sometimes terrible oppression, is precisely to anchor these countries in these values.
I will ask a simple question, which is also addressed to the honourable Member: can any convinced European who wishes to move Europe forward along the path of democracy and human rights, but also of social rights, reasonably take the risk of rejecting the Charter of Fundamental Rights, an integral part of the Constitution, which marks a fundamental milestone in the building of our Europe, of a Europe based on common values?
These two countries have moreover been fully involved in drafting this Constitution, which will give Europe more solid foundations.
The success of this enlargement depends not only on the practical efforts made by Bulgaria and Romania in the process of reforming their societies. It also needs the support of our citizens, who must understand the significance of this enlargement for the stability of our continent. The European Parliament has a vital role to play in lending its political legitimacy and credibility to this process.
This fifth enlargement process, which was launched in 1997 by the Luxembourg European Council, has been comprehensive, inclusive and progressive. The twelve countries involved have all undergone the process under the same conditions and have been called on to join the European Union on the basis of the same criteria. It has taken place in phases, at each candidate country’s own pace, depending on its degree of preparation. This has made it possible to ensure that each country has had the same opportunities to join the European Union, but also the same obligations to meet. At the European Council of December 2002, which decided on the accession of the ten new Member States, the declaration on a single Europe underlined the continuous, inclusive and irreversible nature of the enlargement process, clearly announcing our objective of wishing to welcome Bulgaria and Romania as new Member States in 2007."@en1
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