Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-15-Speech-3-250"
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"en.20060315.21.3-250"2
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"Mr President, I welcome this generally positive report by Mr Brok. I welcome its boldness in recognising the fact that the western Balkans should be an integral part of the European Union in the future. I am convinced that we have to respect our commitments; we cannot close the doors to those countries that were offered a membership perspective or to those countries that deserve such a perspective in future in the light of the EU Treaty provisions.
Let us not, however, repeat our old mistakes. We have to be prepared for enlargement. First and foremost we have to provide the financing. We also have to prepare our citizens for the enlargement perspective by explaining the great benefits of it. We have to stop making past and future enlargement a scapegoat for our internal, mostly domestic, problems and inaction.
In preparing for enlargement, we have to be rigorous, we have to adhere to conditionality, we have to be sincere with our partners. Let us not, however, be overly dogmatic. It is perfectly possible to open the doors to Croatia without the Constitutional Treaty. It is enough to introduce the necessary adjustments in the Accession Treaty. Croatia should not be a victim or hostage of our problems with the Constitutional Treaty.
I welcome the report’s innovativeness and courage. We could discuss the idea of intermediate steps towards reaching accession provided they were not permanent – intermediate steps, yes, but not as a substitute for membership. Various considerations should not be used as an alibi for inaction or for closing the doors to countries that will one day merit membership, such as Ukraine. The Union’s borders are already defined by the EU Treaty, which provides that ‘any European state which respects the principles ...’, etc.
Finally, let me repeat: enlargement is one of the most successful of the Union’s policies and therefore we should make good use of its potential to build a strong, secure and influential Union, faithful to its values of solidarity, democracy and openness."@en1
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