Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-29-Speech-3-113"
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"en.20061129.14.3-113"2
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"Mr President, I should like to thank Members for this very constructive and substantive debate. It is a very honourable way to welcome Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union in the spirit of evolving European democracy.
I want to use this last opportunity, at least this year, to discuss one or two issues, in particular concerning the Hungarian minority in Romania. We attach great importance to the protection of minorities, multiculturalism and multilingualism, which are core principles of the European Union. Over the years, the situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania has improved. There is always room for further improvement as regards the treatment of minorities and this applies to the current and future Member States. For instance, in Romania, we would welcome further progress concerning inter-ethnic relations within the police, among other things.
Some speakers raised the issue of the future of our enlargement policy. We will debate this at the December part-session. I just wish to point out to you that in its report of 8 November 2006, the Commission called for a new consensus on the EU’s enlargement policy that would combine both the historic mission of extending the area of peace, freedom and democracy on our continent and, at the same time, ensuring our capacity to gradually integrate new members.
In my view, it is necessary that we start to intensify our work for institutional reform. That is necessary for the functioning capacity of the current European Union and, at the same time, it will also prepare the enlarged Union in time for further steps in enlargement.
The Commission’s view is that a new institutional settlement should be reached before the next candidate country joins the European Union. That means we trust that, as the European Council outlined in June, the four Presidencies over the next two years – the German, Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies, and the French Presidency in the second half of 2008 – along with our Member States, with the support of Parliament and the Commission, will be able to achieve a new interinstitutional settlement. It is a simple fact of timing that the year 2008 comes before the end of the decade when the 28th Member State, which is likely to be Croatia, could be ready to join our Union, if it is able to reform its judiciary, economy and meet all the other conditions with full determination and concrete results.
I very warmly welcome the debate that is to take place in December on our enlargement strategy and integration capacity."@en1
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