Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-16-Speech-3-459"
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"en.20080116.19.3-459"2
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"Commissioner, Madam President, ladies and gentlemen.
The European Union’s interest and objective in South Caucasus is to support and encourage the development currently under way in the three countries in the region towards the establishment of peaceful and stable countries. The neighbourhood policy is in operation but it is also necessary to draw up a regional policy to operate alongside it. At the same time we must not be indifferent to the distinctive features of the three countries, otherwise our policies will not be effective.
I should stress once again, the countries of South Caucasus – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, are very different in terms of culture, customs, religion and geopolitics. However, they have in common their background – they have all broken loose from the influence of Soviet ideology, an influence which lasted for nearly 100 years. They have not yet fully rid themselves of the military presence of the Soviet Union’s successor – Russia.
These countries need, and their people want, democratic reforms; they need the real, targeted assistance of the European Union. The expectation and need is for work to start immediately by the Commission Delegations in Yerevan and Baku.
At the same time the work of the European Union Special Representative for South Caucasus is not enough in its current form. There has been no explanation as to why the special representative’s reports over the years have not been available to the European Parliament. This situation should be changed. All of us are working with the same objective in view.
We must not forget that democracy is not a thing, it is a way of thinking and cannot simply be removed one day or shifted from one country to another. Full democracy does not appear overnight.
We are not at ease with everything that is going on in Armenia or Azerbaijan or Georgia, whether it be in relation to combating corruption or the judiciary or the situation of the media in the region. The countries themselves are not happy with these aspects either. It is in our power to provide them with active support both for their institutions and in the form of expert and financial assistance. The region welcomes all real aid today.
Therefore I call upon the Commission and the European Parliament to make more use of the know-how of today’s European Union Member States who were recently in the same situation as South Caucasus. We know what the local conditions and problems are, and our experience of establishing states based on the rule of law and a market economy would be of practical assistance to them."@en1
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