Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-12-Speech-2-184"
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"en.20050412.27.2-184"2
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".
Mr President, Bulgaria and Romania were not immediately admitted during the large enlargement round in 2004 because negotiations with those countries were falling behind.
The point I would like to make about Bulgaria is that it indulges in building large roads and airports without giving any consideration to public health, nature, the environment or current EU rules. In addition, the large Roma population, despite projects subsidised by the European Union, is far from being treated on an equal footing. Poverty and unemployment are rampant. The current government is in power thanks to the temporary popularity of one person: the man who wanted to be king but does not have any organised and cohesive backing to speak of. This strange situation will probably come to an end after the elections of 25 June. Since Bulgaria is no worse than some states that were admitted in 2004, that criticism cannot be a good enough reason to wait any longer than 2007.
Romania’s membership is much more controversial. In recent years, there were no guarantees for the independence of the press, justice and non-governmental organisations. Although Romania has signed up as candidate member of the European Union, I get the impression that it has a higher regard for the US and Turkey. Romania is in such a bad state that neighbouring Moldova’s initial eagerness to return to it has completely evaporated. Government tasks have been neglected, but room
been created for a wild-west economy. In a bid to extract minerals cheaply, the country hires foreign freebooters who use dangerous chemicals which can seriously pollute the soil, groundwater and river water. In neighbouring Hungary, which has previously been hit by toxic river water from Romania, people are anticipating with fear the gold extraction project in Rosia Montana in the Romanian province Alba, which will involve the use of cyanide. Moreover, Romania has concluded an agreement with the United States to sabotage the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Romania is US Defence Minister Rumsfeld’s shop window of the ‘new Europe’.
Romania’s performance is worse than that of any of the countries that have been admitted to date. That could, in itself, be a reason to reject Romania’s membership for the time being. My group, however, defends the right of European countries with a low standard of living to join the European Union quickly, provided they waste no time in complying with requirements in terms of human rights, democracy and the environment. Romania’s unconditional admission would make it more difficult to bring pressure to bear on Turkey to become a decent democratic country before being admitted to the European Union. Moreover, it takes away any serious argument to delay negotiations even further with the former Yugoslav republics Croatia and Macedonia, which had hoped to join at the same time as Romania. We do not know what Romania’s short-term development will be like under a new government; nor do we know whether a solution to the existing problems is in sight. That is why it is appropriate that the option of postponement should continue to exist as a lever. Not only the Council, but also this House, should possess that prerogative."@en1
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