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The European
Parliament adopted by 534 votes to 44, with 45 abstentions a resolution on
the Commission's 2007 enlargement strategy paper. The initiative
report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Elmar BROK (EPP-ED, DE) on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In its
resolution, Parliament agrees with the Commission that past enlargements have
been a great success, benefiting the old as well as the new EU Member States
by fostering economic growth, promoting social progress and bringing peace,
stability, freedom and prosperity to the European continent. It believes that
lessons can be learned from previous accessions and that further ways of
improving the quality of the enlargement process must be based on the
positive experiences accumulated so far. Overall,
Parliament reaffirms its commitment to all candidate countries with
the understanding that full and rigorous compliance with all the criteria
laid down in Copenhagen is imperative and that the Union must make efforts to
strengthen its integration capacity. According to the Parliament, the Union's
Enlargement Strategy should comply with the provisions of the EU Treaty and
reflect the commitments already entered into by the Union, while striking a
balance between the Union's geo-strategic interests, the impact of political
developments outside its borders, and the Union's integration capacity. It
also recalls that integration capacity is linked to the Union's ability to
promote economic and social progress and a high level of employment in its
Member States, to assert its identity on the international scene, to promote
the rights and interests of Member States and European citizens alike, to
develop an area of freedom, security and justice, and to build on its acquis
communautaire while upholding fundamental rights and freedoms. Integration
capacity: Parliament considers that the concept
of integration capacity comprises four elements: - accession
states should contribute to and not impair the ability of the Union to maintain momentum towards the fulfilment of its political objectives;
- the
institutional framework of the Union should be able to deliver efficient
and effective government;
- the
financial resources of the Union should be adequate to meet the
challenges of social and economic cohesion and of the Union's common
policies;
- a
comprehensive communication strategy should be in place to inform public
opinion about the implications of enlargement.
Furthermore, Parliament
considers that the Copenhagen criteria must be fully respected and complied
with by Member States as well, in order to avoid requiring of applicant
countries higher standards than those applied in some parts of the Union. Budgetary
impact of all subsequent enlargements: Parliament
considers that the budgetary as well as the broader economic and social
implications of further possible enlargements must be taken into due consideration
during the mid-term review of the 2007-2013 multi-annual financial framework
and the drafting of subsequent financial frameworks. It is also convinced
that any acceding State should try to resolve its main internal problems
(territorial and constitutional set-up) before it can join the Union. No
enlargement without consolidation: Parliament takes
the view that every enlargement must be followed by adequate consolidation
and political concentration, that is to say, by a serious reassessment of the
Union's policies and means in order to respond to the expectations of
European citizens and to guarantee the viability of the Union as a political
project. It considers that enlargement without adequate consolidation and
preparation could damage the Union’s internal cohesion and could have serious
implications for the Union's capacity to act (weakening its institutions,
making Member States more vulnerable to external pressure and undermining the
Union’s credibility as a global actor). More
communication: Parliament is of the view that
further enlargements should be accompanied by a concerted communication
policy involving all stakeholders. This communication policy should be
designed to explain the political, economic, social and cultural benefits of
enlargement. Furthermore, countries with European prospects should make every
effort to prepare their public opinion for integration into the Union, involving civil society in this process from the outset. Concentric
circles: Parliament is convinced that the
Enlargement Strategy should be flanked by a more diversified range of
external contractual frameworks and that these frameworks could be structured
as mutually permeable concentric circles. This means that countries would be
offered the opportunity, under strict but clear internal and external
conditions, to move from one status to another if they so wish and if they
fulfil the criteria pertaining to each specific framework. Strengthened
Neighbourhood Policy for eastern neighbours: Parliament
affirms that participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy does not
constitute a substitute for membership or a stage leading necessarily to
membership. It is convinced that the Commission's strengthened neighbourhood
policy is not sufficient and that a specific policy should be proposed for
eastern neighbours that fulfil certain democratic and economic conditions.
For these countries, the Union should establish an area based on common
policies covering, in particular, the rule of law, democracy and human
rights, foreign and security policy cooperation, economic and financial
issues, trade, energy, transport, environmental issues, justice, security,
migration, visa-free movement and education. These common policies should be
shaped jointly with the participating countries and be underpinned by
adequate financial assistance. Towards a European Commonwealth for southern countries: Parliamentwelcomes the re-launch of the "Barcelona Process: A Union for
the Mediterranean". It recalls that, as a first step, these relations
should translate themselves into the establishment of a Free Trade Area, to
be followed by closer relations along the lines of a European Commonwealth. It also calls for specific measures for countries bordering the Black Sea with
a view to establishing a Union for the Black Sea, which should include the
EU, Turkey and all Black Sea littoral states. It also believes that countries
which enjoy recognised membership prospects but still have considerable
ground to cover before they can achieve candidate status, could usefully
participate, on a totally voluntary basis, in arrangements similar to the
above-mentioned bilateral or multilateral frameworks. It believes that such a
multilateral framework would not only offer the countries involved the
possibility of strengthening their cooperation with the EU across a wide
variety of policy fields, but would also allow the EU to play a more active
role in finding peaceful solutions to the region's conflicts, thus
contributing positively to security in the region. Balkans: Parliament welcomes the signing of the Stabilisation and
Association Agreements with Serbia and with Bosnia-Herzegovina, which it
regards as a further step in consolidating the ties between that region and
the EU. It calls for the negotiations for visa liberalisation with the
countries of the Western Balkans to be speeded up and, lastly, urges the
Commission to come up with concrete proposals for a more diversified external
relations policy towards these neighbours.
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