Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-341"
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"en.20051026.22.3-341"2
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"Madam President, Madam Commissioner, if I had to tell my constituents that I was addressing the European Parliament at 11.30 p.m., I doubt that they would believe me, let alone tell me that they tuned in to the new Europarl website to listen. But at least the late hour of this debate has not kept us from making a sober assessment of the Barcelona Process, and the rapporteur is certainly to be commended for her candid report.
Ten years on, the Barcelona Process has not lived up to expectations and it would be fair to conclude that we do not have much to celebrate. However, this is not to say that we should be pessimistic; rather, we should look at the experience of the past ten years and demonstrate that we can learn from it.
Here are some lessons that I would like to draw. Firstly, we should avoid spreading ourselves too thinly. If necessary, we should admit that the Barcelona Process may have been far too ambitious and should focus instead on fewer priorities where we can truly make a difference.
Secondly, we must acknowledge that the problems of our Mediterranean partners are our problems too. Take immigration, for instance: the limitations of the Barcelona Process on immigration have turned into a massive problem at the door of European Union Member States. So, in helping our Mediterranean partners, we are in reality also helping ourselves. It could be a win-win situation.
Thirdly, we must treat our Mediterranean partners like true partners. All too often, Europe has fallen into the trap of sounding patronising and appearing to dictate to them when this is not the right partnership approach at all.
Finally, the process needs visibility, both for EU citizens as well as for citizens of the member partners. Unless people see that the process can affect them and benefit them directly, they can hardly be asked to support it."@en1
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