Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-24-Speech-3-311"
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"en.20071024.39.3-311"2
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"Mr President, Minister, Commissioner, first of all I would like to congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Kacin, on his constructive and balanced report. In 2003 the European Union committed itself to the integration of Serbia into the EU because of its conviction that Serbia is an important factor in regional stability, and that Serbia’s future lies in Europe. From this point onwards, the pace of integration depends entirely on Serbia.
Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague is an important prerequisite. Progress has been made; two out of the six most wanted war criminals have been handed over, but the most serious war criminals, Mladić and Karadžić, are still at large. Further efforts are needed. The biggest test of strength for both Serbia and Europe is the issue of settling the status of Kosovo. The current situation is the most serious obstacle both to regional stability and to Serbia’s EU integration. We expect Serbia to act in a constructive manner in order to resolve this situation as quickly and as satisfactorily as possible.
Progress has been made in the field of minority rights; the number of violent assaults has fallen, and minorities have been granted new rights under the constitution. The progress made, however, is far from adequate: regulations relating to National Councils are not yet in place and legislation guaranteeing self-determination for minorities is lacking. There are also European tasks that Serbia needs to undertake, given that in practice the Constitutional Court is non-functional, the justice system is slow and subject to political influence, and corruption and organised crime permeate all areas of economic and social life. If Serbia genuinely desires integration, it is vitally important that it steps up its efforts in these areas. Europe will give Serbia all possible assistance in order for it to carry out these tasks successfully, but it is Serbia that must undertake the tasks. We must emphasise that the responsibility and the obligation to do everything in their power to ensure the successful integration of Serbia into the EU lie with our Serb friends themselves. Thank you, Mr President."@en1
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