Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-16-Speech-3-190"
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"en.20090916.17.3-190"2
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"Madam President, today we in the EPP say to the people of Bosnia, of Albania and of Serbia: you are not forgotten; we have not abandoned you. We understand, especially to the people of Sarajevo, your frustration. But at the same time, we say to the people of the European Union, we will not bend the benchmarks. The rules have to be the same for everybody. Your security is important for us.
Mainly we say to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina: take your responsibilities; put your house in order; do your homework. We appreciate the progress that has been achieved recently. We will ask the Commission to continue to support you but if I have learned anything in my six years of the wars and peace in the Balkans, and believe me, this is an issue very close to my heart, victimism, the blame game and scapegoating belong to the past.
This is an issue of European integration. We have to look at this from a European perspective and, as Mrs Cecilia Malmström said, the best way to start the U-turn that is needed to go from dependence and victimism is for them to take the country into their hands, and to start those visa reforms which are badly needed and necessary anyway.
I hope we can agree on a clear message to the authorities in the region that we will support them but we will not compromise on the security of our citizens – that they have to take their responsibilities.
I think we should support the Commission proposal, and, to those who think that this could be destabilising, I would like to say that stability will come with European integration. It is very unfortunate that passports are issued in Zagreb and in Belgrade, and we should definitely try to reduce that as much as possible, but we cannot make different rules for the Bosnian people. It is not in their interests.
What we can do is to do our part in this Parliament to accelerate the process and make a decision, make our policy so that the Council can take a decision within this year."@en1
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