Howitt (PSE). – Mr President, I join with others in warning that substantial change still needs to occur in Romania but that we reject the language of rejection. We should recognise the progress Romania has made in strengthening the Court of Audit, in judicial reform and in the introduction of the new Constitution, and we should not rule out a successful close to the negotiations this year. Every effort must be made, in particular by the Romanians, to maintain this momentum. However, we should signal our intent to them, and we do so by seeking to amend the resolution to replace the wording calling accession in 2007 'impossible' in paragraph 1.

But problems remain. Despite efforts to reduce the number of children in institutions, Save the Children Romania says that no attention is paid to combating trafficking for sexual exploitation. The recent reported death of 17 psychiatric patients from malnutrition and hypothermia in a hospital in southern Romania shows the severe problems faced by disabled people. Our Amendment No 3 shows that discrimination against these and other groups is magnified amongst Roma communities.

I fully support the rapporteur's view that the challenge is not simply one of closing chapters in negotiations but still one of dealing with endemic problems of corruption and political reform in order to meet the Copenhagen criteria for democracy and human rights.

Finally, I am delighted that people from my own region in the east of England are linked through a network called Praxis with the Arad County Council in Romania. We must not lose sight of our aspiration, which is not simply about completing a political process of European enlargement but about bringing the people of Romania together with all those we represent.