Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-060"
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"en.20080409.20.3-060"2
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"−
To begin with, I should like to congratulate Mr Swoboda and Mr Meijer for preparing the two reports on the progress achieved by Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
I should like to move on to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: as Mr Meijer stated in his report, this is the only country with candidate status since 2005 which has not yet commenced the accession negotiations.
In our opinion, once the benchmarks are met, this situation should be finally resolved this year. That is why the message conveyed in the European Commission's latest document was that the autumn report on progress made by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could be positive, provided the key priority tasks are fulfilled. And a similar message was also communicated at the foreign ministers’ informal meeting in Slovenia at the end of March.
At the same time, we must not forget that the country has already proved its importance for stability in the region. The country's role must be recognised, and it must be encouraged with positive signals to continue its constructive role in the region, and to continue with its reforms. One such signal is the dialogue on visa liberalisation.
We concur with Mr Meijer's opinion that the government in Skopje has been implementing the Ohrid Framework Agreement, especially in the sphere of decentralisation and the level of ethnic minorities' representation in the public administration. Our wish is that progress be made as soon as possible in finding solutions for the remaining issues, which are crucial for the Albanian community.
As the country presiding over the EU Council, Slovenia has been encouraging all the political parties to step up their political dialogue and systematic cooperation, so that the next stage in the process of joining the European Union can be achieved this year.
In this context, I should like to emphasise how sorry we are that, because of the open issue of the name, the latest negotiations have failed to bring the desired results. Also, I regret that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has not been invited to become a NATO member. Considering that the country has made considerable efforts to secure this invitation, we hope that it will soon follow in the footsteps of the other two candidates, who have each received such an invitation.
In its statement, following the NATO summit, the Slovenian Presidency has called for the negotiations on the name issue to be continued, and to be concluded as soon as possible. The Slovenian Presidency also called for all the politicians in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to preserve the achieved level of unanimity as regards their country's European and Euro-Atlantic future. The Slovenian Presidency has also recommended that the country should take full advantage of the time that is still available before the Commission produces its regular autumn progress report.
We are glad that the European Parliament has placed the discussion on the progress achieved by both the candidate states on the agenda of this session. This is because the Slovenian Presidency attaches exceptional importance to integrating the states of the Western Balkans into the European Union.
In this connection, I should like to remind you that at their informal meeting at the end of March the foreign ministers communicated to the region of the Western Balkans a positive message concerning its European prospects. At this difficult time for the region, in my opinion, such a message is welcome and appropriate.
Firstly, as regards Croatia: the accession negotiations with Croatia are proceeding according to plan and at this point I would like to express my agreement with Mr Swoboda’s view that, over the last two years, Croatia has made substantial progress in meeting the accession benchmarks.
Sixteen out of 35 negotiation chapters have been opened so far, and two have already been provisionally closed. Two accession conferences with Croatia are scheduled, one in April and another in June; and provided that all the benchmarks are met, several other new chapters will also be opened at the two accession conferences.
I should like to emphasise that the Slovenian Presidency is committed to continuing the process of expansion of the European Union and achieving further progress in negotiations. The dynamics of negotiations depend primarily on the candidate state itself, and on its progress as regards the meeting of the benchmarks. These have been determined within the negotiations framework, in the revised accession partnership which the Council of the European Union adopted in February this year, as well as in other legal acts.
I repeat, Croatia has achieved considerable progress; however, the fact is that a lot of work remains to be done. As was stated by Mr Swoboda, in the future much more attention should be paid to further transfers and effective implementation of the
. Croatia must continue its efforts to meet the benchmarks and achieve faster progress.
In particular, I would like to mention the following: the reform of the judiciary and administration, the fight against corruption, economic reforms, minority rights, the refugees' return, and full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The documents I have mentioned also consider it essential for Croatia to continue making efforts to achieve good relations with neighbouring countries. Of course this includes finding solutions for the unresolved issues."@en1
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