Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-06-Speech-3-286"
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"en.20050706.26.3-286"2
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Mr President, thank you for your gracious words of congratulation on London’s Olympic bid. I would have been delighted if any European city had been successful in Singapore today, but I am particularly delighted that London has secured this. I hope that the 2012 Games will be a great European success.
Mr Posselt raised the issue of Croatia. As a proud Scotsman, I do not want to disabuse him of his apparent certainty that the Loch Ness monster exists, or to dissuade him from the opportunity of visiting Scotland to continue the search, but let me make a deadly serious point to him. The European Union has made it clear that it stands ready to open accession negotiations as soon as there is full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. We hope this will happen during the UK Presidency, but it is ultimately up to Croatia to take the necessary steps to ensure full cooperation. The easiest way for Croatia to address doubts about Croatia’s commitment to ICTY is to cooperate in locating and detaining Ante Gotovina.
Mr Beglitis raised the question of how European Union help to Bosnia-Herzegovina in implementing the reforms necessary for European Union integration can be taken forward. The European Union is providing a range of instruments to help the authorities carry out the necessary reforms. The European Union Police Mission aims to help the Bosnian police force reach European standards. It focuses on police reform through the monitoring and mentoring of middle-ranking to senior officers in the police force.
The EU CARDS Programme also supports reforms for European Union integration. The European Union Special Representative and High Representative, Lord Paddy Ashdown, plays a coordinating role between the different European Union presences and has played a leading role in encouraging the Bosnian authorities to take the reform agenda forward. I pay tribute to his work today. His Mission Implementation Plan closely reflects the 16 priority areas identified in the European Union feasibility study published in November 2003.
In addition to the terrible anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, which has been mentioned by so many speakers today and which we will commemorate next week, this year will also mark the tenth anniversary of the Dayton Accords, as was also mentioned in passing by at least a couple of speakers, and the end to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I believe that the next six months therefore offer an historic opportunity for these countries to demonstrate their wholehearted commitment to European values, to tolerance and the rule of law, to good neighbourly relations and to the difficult but very serious process of reconciliation, which a number of speakers have talked about today.
None of this will be easy. Each country will face particular and different challenges, but I encourage them to work jointly and to encourage each other on this path. In this respect, I echo the sentiments expressed by Commissioner Rehn. I cannot stress too highly the importance of full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Handing over the last remaining indictees for trial in The Hague, notably Karadzic, Mladic and Gotovina, is not just an obscure European Union condition, but is required under several United Nations Security Council resolutions. This will not only transform the nature of these countries’ relations with the European Union but will also serve to transform their societies and contribute to the long-term process of rehabilitation that has been spoken about so convincingly today.
In that respect the joint statement by the presidents of the Dayton signatories issued following the recent meeting of the Mount Igman initiative in Belgrade was a welcome step. It will contribute to the normalisation of relations between those three countries. It represents an excellent basis for further work and we look forward to the implementation of the important commitments it contains.
The forthcoming tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre is a vivid reminder of how far the Balkans have come, but also of how much remains to be done. Thankfully armed conflict is and must remain a thing of the past although, as Mrs Ibrisagic reminded us, recent discoveries of explosives have shown that there are still those minded to advance their cause by violence.
The European Union has recognised the region’s aspirations to join the European family once conditions have been met, but corruption and organised crime are still far too prevalent and economic growth is lacklustre. But whilst we stand ready to help, the answer to these challenges lies not in Brussels, The Hague, London or, with the greatest of respect, Strasbourg. It lies within the region and within the people whose energy and talents have outlived the years of conflict and it depends on their willingness to demand that their decency, hope and integrity are fully reflected.
I would like to thank all the Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission for their contributions to what has proved to be an insightful and wise debate this afternoon. It is clear that there is a real commitment by all of you to support the European aspirations of the Western Balkan countries. We certainly aim during our Presidency to work towards bringing the region within the European family of nations and will be working assiduously to achieve that. We are conscious of the many challenges ahead, but we are committed to working together to overcome them.
I shall respond to some of the main points that have been raised by Members on both past and future issues. Mrs Pack spoke powerfully on the need for reconciliation. I recognise the need for a wider recognition of responsibility and this was a subject that I discussed only last week with the Reis-ul-Ulema, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, who has been leading efforts to achieve exactly this reconciliation within and between communities in the regions.
Mr Swoboda rightly recognised the need for countries to have opportunities to right past wrongs. That is certainly true but, as Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck reflected, it is necessary for all the countries in the region to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Mr Cohn-Bendit spoke of the Dayton Accords and urged the international community to now take the initiative. Whilst listening with care to the points that he made, I would respectfully remind him that only the three constituent communities of Bosnia can make changes to the constitution.
Mr Czarnecki questioned the European Union’s policy towards Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbia-Montenegro state union is a loose federal arrangement, created in 2003 largely through the initiative of Javier Solana. Under the terms of the state union Constitutional Charter, either republic can hold a referendum on withdrawal after February 2006. It is looking increasingly likely that Montenegro will seek to dissolve the union in 2006.
The European Union continues to support the state union as the best means of promoting stability and ensuring faster progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration. However, the European Union recognises the terms of the Constitutional Charter, which allows for a referendum to be held after three years and emphasises the need for any dissolution to be constitutional, consensual, negotiated and transparent.
Mr Papastamkos spoke of the need for a clear regional approach, so let me say a further word about the European Union’s priorities for the Western Balkans during the United Kingdom’s Presidency. During the next six months, a number of key issues will come to a head. The Commission will publish its opinion on Macedonia, Lord Ashdown’s mandate in Bosnia will come to an end and a positive assessment of standards implementation in Kosovo could lead to a process to determine Kosovo’s final status, a process in which the European Union will have a key role to play.
Across the range of Western Balkan issues, the Presidency will help the region make progress towards European standards and values. The Presidency will continue to drive forward the European Union’s Stabilisation and Association process, designed to build stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans and guide these countries towards eventual European Union membership. The progress of each country within the stabilisation and association process will be judged against established political criteria. Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal, as I have already mentioned, remains a key political requirement."@en1
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