Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-396"
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"en.20060118.24.3-396"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, firstly, I want to say that Mr Tannock’s report on the European neighbourhood policy is a document I fully support, and I can only congratulate him on his excellent work. His report shows that he is very familiar with European history and the current lie of the land. It is only those who are knowledgeable about the past who can also respond to the challenges of tomorrow.
The conditions under which he has worked have not, however, always been easy, for the European neighbourhood policy now extends to include, on the one hand, European countries that are entitled to apply for membership and that may become EU Member States and, on the other hand, non-European countries that cannot become EU Member States. In my personal opinion, the neighbourhood policy should only apply to countries that are neighbours of Europe. Countries that are European and that wish to accede to membership should not be regarded as neighbours but as potential EU Member States and should be given clear prospects of joining the EU.
Moreover, the debate on these issues has recently shifted considerably. When we talk about the European neighbourhood policy, we are speaking about a long-term perspective. As for a short-term perspective, there is often no such thing. Does this mean that opinion both within and outside Parliament has changed, or do we lack political courage? A year ago, for example, the view regarding Ukraine was that it had very clear prospects of EU membership and that there was no doubt whatsoever that it belonged to the European family. We all remember the many orange-coloured scarves to be seen in this Assembly in support of Ukraine’s democratisation process. Had the issue of the status of negotiations for Ukrainian membership been discussed at that time, I am quite convinced that there would not have been so many who would have opposed that country’s membership. Today, the situation is different. Certainly, we still tell Ukraine that we wish to see it become an EU Member State, but we emphasise that this will take some time and that it should not be in a hurry.
Turning now to another state, the situation in Belarus resembles that of a dictatorship and is anything other than satisfactory. Its road to possible EU membership will be a long one. In spite of this, I believe that, alongside our calls for democratisation, we should send out clear signals that, when it one day becomes democratic, Belarus too will have its place in the European family. What I am looking for, both in the neighbourhood policy and in the European debate generally, are visions and optimism. Without optimism and clearly expressed desires regarding what we want to bring about and what kind of Europe we want to see in the future, shall we rise to today’s challenges, either."@en1
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