Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-04-12-Speech-2-221"
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"en.20050412.27.2-221"2
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".
Thank you for a very serious and substantive debate. You raised several concerns as to the two countries’ ability to fight corruption and in general to live up to the commitments made in the field of the environment, reform of the judiciary system or the rights of minorities. I share these concerns. That is why it is so important to sustain a positive momentum, to encourage these countries to stick to their reform agendas to the full.
Secondly, numerous criteria, especially in the field of justice and home affairs, as well as competition, state aid and the environment, are included in the Accession Treaty itself. Therefore it is clearly important to monitor this process and ensure that it is democratic. This respects the spirit of the Treaty and European democracy, and it is very important that the European Parliament be fully involved in this decision.
We are on the eve of a historic decision. I am very glad that we have had sound and productive cooperation with the European Parliament. I trust this will be a good omen for future cooperation. Now the final outcome is in the hands of the Romanians and Bulgarians. I hope they succeed and we will support them so that they will be ready to become fully-fledged Member States by January 2007.
The Commission will closely monitor progress and keep the European Parliament properly informed. If the Commission should find it necessary to recommend invoking the safeguard clause we will, as I said in my introductory speech, seriously consider the views of Parliament before issuing any such recommendation, in line with the exchange of letters between Presidents Barroso and Borrell.
I should like to comment on the rights of minorities. In the case of Romania, there was reference to the situation of the Hungarian minority. We can note positive developments with regard to this issue, at the level of both the government and the citizens. The Hungarians became part of the governing coalition in 2004 and Prime Minister Tariceanu chose Budapest as his first destination for a state visit abroad. Moreover, since 2000, the Hungarians have gained significant rights in the administration, education and justice. In particular, it is provided by law that they have the right to express themselves in their mother tongue before the courts. Furthermore, in areas where the Hungarian population is above 20% – in more than 1 000 municipalities – the signs are bilingual.
The Hungarian minority also enjoys educational facilities: the private Hungarian university, Sapientia, has more than 1 400 students. We welcome this positive trend and will continue to monitor the improvements in this area in our comprehensive monitoring report this autumn.
Concerning the situation of the Roma, another issue related to the rights of minorities, both Bulgaria and Romania have started to implement the national strategy on the improvement of the situation of the Roma, as set out in the Union’s PHARE Programme. Although the results are still limited, important progress has been made. In particular, the improved access to education and local projects for community development can be counted as successes.
The Roma Inclusion Decade was recently launched in Sofia, covering several current and future Member States and potential candidates. The Commission fully supports this important initiative. Moreover, we are following the situation of the Csango minority in Romania very closely.
Concerning the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, I wish to remind you that the need to ensure a high level of nuclear safety is a priority for the Union as a whole and its Member States. In this context, the need to close down certain nuclear facilities was highlighted in the case of three countries: Lithuania, the Slovak Republic and Bulgaria. The framework negotiated with Bulgaria is clear and it involves firm and unambiguous respect for the commitments regarding closure on agreed dates. The issue is settled; the case is closed; the dates for closure will not be discussed again.
In conclusion, I gather that there is general support for giving assent to the signature of the Accession Treaty with the two countries, in line with the arrangement outlined in President Barroso’s letter to President Borrell. In other words, the European Parliament is fully associated and the Commission is committing itself seriously to considering the views of the European Parliament.
Let me just say how I see the role of the European Parliament in regard to the postponement clause. I would call this an ‘extended assent’ vote, which is not legally binding because the Treaty does not allow that, but is certainly a weighty political statement once it has been made by the European Parliament. There are both quantitative and qualitative reasons for this. In the first place you have to vote more than 20 months before the accession takes place, which is exceptional. In the case of the EU-10, the period was around 12 months and in the case of the enlargement in 1995 it was roughly 6 or 7 months. That is very different from 20 months."@en1
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