Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2015-05-20-Speech-3-732-000"
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"en.20150520.39.3-732-000"2
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"Mr President, we meet on the day after the latest cross-party mediation talks – the contents of which must remain confidential – in a process in which I am proud to take part on behalf of my group. The meeting last night, which was prolonged, dealt with the contentious issues, including commitment to the European perspective agreed by all parties, in a process which is continuing.
To my fellow members of the European Parliament, I wish to make some comments of my own, not about the talks, but about the country. Firstly, the one-sided call to end the parliamentary boycott, without taking decisive measures to address the failings of the political institutions, is a partisan, not a cross-party, answer and it is therefore not an answer.
Secondly, my group has never actively supported any parliamentary boycott or even the publication of wiretap tapes, and, if jointly we are to succeed, then members of the EPP Group – not Mr Kukan – should show the same discipline by not blaming the opposition, or indeed my own Group. Thirdly, no-one suggests that the leaked surveillance tapes which prompted this crisis are entirely fabricated, and this Parliament should support the demarche from the EU ambassadors that there must be accountability for the wrongdoing identified.
Fourthly, the reforms in the very areas which have caused concern – the judiciary, the media, electoral practices, civil society – have already been part of progress reports, action plans and the high-level accession dialogue, so that any fresh commitment to address them must demonstrate why this time it will be different.
Fifthly, no-one is above the law but, if an opposition leader is put in jail, our solidarity would be not simply with him but with the very notion of democracy in the country, which itself will be called into question by such a step.
Last weekend I stood at the site of the terror attacks in Kumanovo amidst burnt-out houses whose walls were pockmarked with bullet holes and where the view through shattered windows revealed interiors buried in rubble. The families I talked to had hidden for their lives from a 30—hour firefight and suffered the trauma of witnessing 18 people dead. We all hoped that this was a one-off event with no repercussions for inter-ethnic relations, but the families told me they believe the event to be linked to the breakdown of political stability. This lack of trust is, in itself, dangerous.
I have repeatedly warned that Europe’s failure to start accession talks risks a return to conflict, and this deadly attack is a tragic and urgent reminder that this warning is crying out to be heard. What happened in Kumanovo, and in the country, may not be the direct responsibility of Europe, but if we expect the political parties of the country to exercise their responsibilities – and we do expect that – then they can reasonably expect Europe to exercise ours."@en1
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