Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-062"
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"en.20080409.20.3-062"2
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".
Mr President, we are talking today about the only two clearly European candidate countries we have, namely Croatia and Macedonia. We hope to be able to conclude the negotiations with Croatia by the end of this year, or by next year at the latest. We hope to be able to begin negotiations with Macedonia by the end of this year, or by next year at the latest. We want to prevent both countries becoming hostages to bilateral problems, and I appeal in particular to our Greek fellow Members to show movement on this issue, as the erroneous decision taken in Bucharest is already starting to destabilise Macedonia.
As regards Croatia, the Sanader government has been actively pressing ahead with reforms and negotiations. I appeal to the Council and Commission to keep up with the pace of work. I appeal to the Commission actively to strengthen its capacities and to process the relevant documents quickly. I appeal to the Council to open all the negotiating chapters as quickly as possible. When they are closed naturally depends on the negotiations and on Croatia’s efforts.
Croatia has done a massive amount of preliminary political work. It has settled and resolved the issue of fishing zones with great courage, it has endorsed arbitration with Slovenia, and it has above all sent a signal of great significance to the entire region by appointing a Serbian Deputy Prime Minister to the Sanader government, and this in the light of the situation Mr Swoboda has rightly described in Vukovar, for example. Protection of the rights of minorities that goes way beyond what most Member States guarantee in terms of minority rights is taking place there.
I should therefore like to say that we should acknowledge Croatia’s political achievements and decisively support the country on its way into the European Union. We are abiding by the ambitious aim to take a decision in the current period. Should this not be possible, it will be the autumn. We would support your motion, Mr Swoboda, if it contained ‘latest’ and ‘should’, but ‘could’ is only a status report, and we shall therefore keep up the pressure on the Council and Commission. We know that this is ambitious, but Croatia deserves to see justice at long last."@en1
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