XL - Eiropas Parlaments - Europa

16-02-2011 11
sondern auch für Vertriebene einsetzen und eine Lösung der nach wie vor offenen Restitutionsansprüche der
Donauschwaben anstreben würde.
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Jean-Pierre Audy (PPE). – Madame la Présidente, je voudrais saluer la résolution équilibrée de mon collègue Swoboda
et dire qu'il faut absolument que nous réussissions cette adhésion, ce qui m'amène à attirer l'attention sur une très grande
réticence de certaines opinions publiques car cette adhésion arrive au mauvais moment. L'histoire n'a pas de calendrier et
nous sommes en crise. Les citoyens ont une réticence.
Après la chute du mur de Berlin, il y a eu une vague d'adhésions post-communistes et aujourd'hui, nous sommes dossier
par dossier. C'est la raison pour laquelle, Monsieur le Commissaire, je pense qu'il faudrait une grande campagne de
communication dans les États de l'Union, et peut-être même en Croatie, pour expliquer tout le travail qui a été fait, que
tous les chapitres sont bien respectés et que cette adhésion est sérieusement préparée.
Voilà ma proposition parce que l'adhésion n'est pas une compétence européenne. L'adhésion, c'est la compétence des États
et des peuples des États. Nous avons un devoir de réussir cette adhésion. Ne négligeons aucun moyen dans la période
difficile de la construction européenne que nous traversons.
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Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, let me thank you very much for this encouraging and
constructive debate. The draft European Parliament resolution, with its balanced message, is of vital support for the work
undertaken by the Commission. It provides much useful guidance for further work by Croatia, and I particularly welcome
the many references to fairness, quality and credibility made during today’s debate.
I also fully agree with those statements made today underlining that this whole process and the efforts required are for the
benefit of Croatian citizens. Those benefits will have to be clearly communicated in the months to come.
The constructive and steadfast support provided by Parliament for Croatia’s accession process is an important signal. It is
important not only for Croatia itself, but for all the candidate countries and potential candidates. Indeed, your support will
encourage them to keep up the intensity of their efforts on the path towards the European Union and closing negotiations
successfully.
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János Martonyi, President-in-Office of the Council. − Madam President, first and foremost, on behalf of the Presidency, I
would like to express my acknowledgement and thanks for Parliament’s – and in particular the rapporteur, Mr Swoboda’s
– continuous engagement and positive contribution to the efforts we are making to advance not only towards the successful
enlargement to include Croatia, but the progress of the enlargement process as a whole.
I firmly believe that all these efforts have been very well demonstrated by this morning’s very constructive and very useful
debate. I also firmly believe that the resolution to be adopted will underline Parliament’s crucial role, which indeed goes
beyond the concrete item of Croatia’s accession.
This will send an extremely important message to European public opinion, to the citizens of Europe, to the effect that
enlargement does indeed serve their best interests, and it will perhaps convince them that the enlargement fatigue which
developed, and was felt, right after what we now call the reunification of Europe, has gone, and that the train of the
enlargement process has to go on.
At the same time, it will also send an extremely important political message to the other candidate and aspirant countries.
This is also underlined in your report and resolution. We all know that the key factor of stability, cooperation and
reconciliation in the Western Balkans is indeed the European perspective.
So the European perspective has to be credible and has to be underlined and demonstrated by concrete measures. That is
precisely the upcoming accession of Croatia to the European Union. We all know that what we have here is unfinished
business. Europe is still not a whole and our fundamental objective is to take this process on.
Some extremely important remarks and comments were made with respect, for example, to whether the accession
negotiations have been too long or not. It is true that they have lasted almost six years and that this is longer than the
negotiation process was for our countries. What I would recommend now is that we look to the future and try to speed up
this process as much as we can.
Very many important advances and achievements have been made on both sides, and I would only underline again and
again our determination that, with combined efforts on all sides, we can now make a credible, good quality enlargement.
This would be an extremely important message for all of us, inside and outside the present European Union.