Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-346"
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"en.20080709.34.3-346"2
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"Mr President, in connection with the debate on enlargement strategy, I would like to draw attention to the substantial criteria relating to our immediate neighbours, the Western Balkans and Ukraine.
The prospect of accession, and especially the obligation to comply with the Copenhagen criteria, has been a huge motivation for the candidate countries to modernise and develop into constitutional states.
The Western Balkans and Ukraine need this motivating force. If we take away the prospect of accession from our immediate neighbours, with whom we share European traditions and history, the motivating force that can make the constitutional statehood of these countries a reality ceases to exist.
Legislation such as the anti-minority education decrees will be appearing very shortly, and this, along with closures of schools that teach in the mother tongue, language death and assimilation, is generating huge anger in Ukraine. When the bar is dropped or the goal becomes more distant, standards move further away from what we call a constitutional state.
So we have a great responsibility. It is now important for us to ensure that the criteria are fulfilled not just on paper but in reality – consistency is needed from our neighbours in their preparations, and consistency is needed from the Union in its promises and calls to account. Our consistent behaviour will create confidence among our voters and neighbours alike."@en1
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