Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-10-06-Speech-3-162"
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"en.20101006.14.3-162"2
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"Mr President, representatives of the European Commission, Commissioner Malmström, representatives of the Council, of course, ladies and gentlemen, I will try to use four minutes now and, if necessary, two more at the end.
Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the Commission and the Council, let us make an effort and perhaps take one more step to make it possible for the citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to travel freely before the Catholic Christmas, thus, before the end of this year, so that they can visit their relatives and friends during the holiday season. We did that last year in the case of the FYROM, Serbia and Montenegro and I believe that, with the amount of will that we have, we will also be able to do it this year.
One final thing I would like to add is that our ‘yes’ in Parliament tomorrow will be recognition of the very hard work done by both countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania. They have met all the conditions, which is the key criterion for us, and I think that that recognition will be a very good incentive to all the countries of the Western Balkans, because it would show that hard work really does pay.
Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have met all the conditions and stand ready for visa liberalisation. The European Commission has confirmed this, as indeed did we last week, in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, without a single vote against. The expectations of the Albanian and Bosnian and Herzegovinian public, that tomorrow in this House, we will be giving the green light, are legitimate, and these people deserve that.
I would like to welcome Mr Sven Alkalaj, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mrs Jozefina Topalli, the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, who are seated in the gallery and who are closely following this debate. It is time we sent out a message to these two countries: we are ready for you, you have met the conditions. We will knock down the visa walls that have divided the countries of the Western Balkans for far too long.
We have long struggled to achieve this common goal of ours and I would like to thank everyone who participated in this process, especially the European Commission and the Council. I am pleased that my own country, Slovenia, has played a very important role here.
To the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, the European Union sometimes seems a lot further away than it really is. With visa liberalisation, we will be taking a major step forward towards building confidence among the people and continuing with the urgent reforms still needed to bring them to fully-fledged membership.
Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have made their borders secure, they have ensured the security of biometric passports, and they have made significant steps in the fight against corruption and organised crime.
Last year, the European Union liberalised the visa regime for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and their joy was indescribable. That makes sense because, some twenty years prior to that, the citizens of the Western Balkans used to travel west without any visas. It seems to me that this is not merely a diplomatic gift. It is now our duty, the duty of the European Union, to fulfil our promise. What is at stake here is our credibility and the credibility of the European Union.
Might I remind you that, last November, it was Parliament itself, together with the European Council, that undertook to deal with the visa liberalisation for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, under an expedited procedure, as soon as these countries met the conditions.
I therefore call on you to support my report, so that we can send a truly positive message to both of these countries. Their people deserve it more than ever before and. I believe that we will very soon be followed by our European governments."@en1
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