Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-061"
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"en.20080409.20.3-061"2
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"Mr President, I welcome Mr Swoboda’s report on Croatia and Mr Meijer’s report on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Evidently, political stability will be essential for success. I met President Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Gruevski in Skopje some weeks ago, in March. I called upon all political forces in the country to concentrate their energies on the reform agenda in order to take advantage of the opportunities which this year holds for the country.
I repeat this call today, as it is no less important now, in the aftermath of the NATO summit in Bucharest. The name issue has consumed much political energy lately. While I congratulate Croatia and Albania on their success in Euro-Atlantic integration with NATO membership, I can understand the disappointment felt in Bucharest last week by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. I encourage the political leadership to continue on the road towards NATO and EU integration with full determination.
Let me conclude by noting that we are discussing developments in the two countries at a very appropriate point in time. Both countries are in a position to make this year a very special and even decisive one in terms of getting more and more integrated with the European Union. Support and encouragement from the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission will be highly important for these countries. Therefore, I very much appreciate your invaluable contribution to our European policy of stability and progress in the Western Balkans.
On Croatia, I find that the Swoboda report addresses the main issues where Croatia will face challenges on its path to the European Union, focusing particularly on the political sphere. It is a solid report that will reflect realities even better if Amendments 15 and 16 by the rapporteur are adopted, for instance concerning the timetable of the process.
Croatia’s accession negotiations have generally been going well, although they have been affected by the application of the ecological and fisheries protection zone – the famous, or infamous, ZERP issue. I welcome the recent decision of the Sabor, the Croatian Parliament, to suspend the application of all aspects of the ZERP for EU vessels, in line with Croatia’s earlier commitments. I commend Prime Minister Sanader for his leadership and I also thank Commission President Barroso for his personal involvement in settling the issue.
I visited Zagreb in early March and found that Croatia’s European vocation was strong enough to settle this problem if it was hampering the accession negotiations. The removal of this obstacle by Croatia should allow chapters that have been blocked to be unblocked as of now and negotiations to resume again at normal pace, allowing for substantial progress in the remaining months of the Slovenian Presidency.
I do agree with the rapporteur and with Mr Lenarčič that Croatia has much work ahead. Concrete progress is needed in judicial, administrative and economic reforms, in the fight against corruption and on refugee return and minority rights. Croatia will also need to continue to make progress on various open bilateral issues with its neighbours. This year could be a decisive one in the accession negotiations, provided that a number of conditions are met by Croatia. The Commission is ready to present in this autumn’s enlargement package an indicative timetable, or a conditional road map, for the technical conclusion of the accession negotiations in the course of 2009, preferably even during the mandate of the present Commission.
To achieve this, Croatia needs to deliver on all opening benchmarks by June. There is not much time to waste. It will also need to comply with all obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and ensure urgent and significant improvements in the management of the EU’s financial assistance.
The Commission is ready to process negotiating positions in the various chapters once benchmarks are met. Essentially, the ball is now in Croatia’s court. The sooner concrete results are achieved, the sooner Croatia will join the European Union. I fully agree with Mr Swoboda that Croatia can become a leading benchmark for the Western Balkan countries showing how they can realise their European perspective.
Concerning the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, I can by and large share the assessment of the Meijer report regarding the reform process. I would like to thank the rapporteur for his cooperation with the Commission services on the report. Following the granting of candidate status in 2005, there was a slowdown. However, the Commission’s rather critical progress report of November 2007 has been followed by corrective actions. Important reforms have been adopted since then, especially to strengthen the judiciary, reform the police and improve inter-ethnic relations.
I note the recommendation that the Commission should develop a set of benchmarks for the opening of accession negotiations this year. I would like to inform you that we have established eight benchmarks, derived from the key priorities of the new Accession Partnership. A recommendation to start accession negotiations will depend upon the progress which the country has made in meeting these benchmarks. We shall make our assessment in the coming autumn in the enlargement package, which will most likely be presented in early November."@en1
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