Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-12-Speech-4-015"
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"en.20090312.4.4-015"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, we cannot but give a positive assessment of the Commission’s proposal. Its timing is perhaps really ideal too because in the current crisis situation all European countries need solidarity. We discussed fairly extensively just yesterday and the day before yesterday the issue of solidarity between new and old Member States. This is an artificial argument to a certain degree, but is one which is actually going on in the heads of many people. However, it is the European Union’s eastern neighbours which are in need of a particular show of solidarity at the moment because, in practical terms, they do not have those support mechanisms which their neighbours immediately to the west of them have. Therefore, such an initiative will offer them a significant assurance that the European Union is still thinking about them and is prepared to invest in developing relations with them.
At the same time, we can say that this is a good initiative, but we will have to see from now on how this initiative will develop because, on a number of occasions, we have witnessed good initiatives fizzle out over time. On the other hand, the fact is that some of these countries which this initiative is targeted at have membership of the European Union as their prime objective. In this sense, it is very important that this notion of Eastern Partnership is not perceived either by us or our eastern neighbours as an attempt to replace future membership for good by such an initiative. With this in mind, I would like you to tell us, Commissioner, based on your contacts, how this initiative is being received by our eastern partners. Officially, of course, they are bound to support it, but specifically from the point of view of possible future membership, I wonder whether they have these misgivings.
I also think that this initiative has one element missing, which was also emphasised by fellow Members, namely the role of Russia. We are aware, of course, how delicate this matter is, given that the countries we are talking about are neighbours not only of the European Union, but of Russia as well. It is also very important for us to develop relations with Russia in respect of these countries so that no rivalry emerges between the European Union and Russia, no clash between the two main influences in these countries, resulting in political instability. In fact, this is exactly what we are witnessing at the moment, to a certain degree. Some of the countries are literally divided and their citizens are split between expectations of Russia and expectations of the European Union. I believe that we must be more active and have much more to offer these countries.
I would like to conclude by saying that I support the easing of visa requirements, which is a very important step, but I want to see as part of this initiative more measures linked to education and exchanges, all of which is related to expanding contacts between citizens in these countries and the European Union, as well as, of course, to increasing the knowledge in these countries about the European Union. Thank you."@en1
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