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Verbatim report of proceedings
Tuesday, 13 February 2001 - Strasbourg OJ edition

Commission work programme for 2001/Nice
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  Haarder (ELDR).(DA) Mr President, enlargement is the most important European project of our time. I would thank the Commission for its determined efforts. Now comes the difficult part, however. Now, it is a question of keeping the impetus going. The first wave of enlargement must be completed in one and a half year’s time in Copenhagen in December 2002. That is the Commission’s objective, and we shall hold them to it. I would call upon the next countries to hold the presidency to maintain very close contact with the candidate countries and to help by removing obstacles from the path in time. However, it is not only, of course, the candidate countries which must adapt to us. We too have to adapt. An EU of 27 Member States must learn to concentrate its forces upon the major and cross-border tasks. That is not, of course, what we are doing at present. A year ago here in Parliament, you said yourself, Mr President of the Commission, that the European Union should be freed from all the, and I quote, “things that are absolutely ridiculous” which the Council of Ministers and Parliament have got you administering. You repeated those words several times, and you are right. Now is the time to do something about it. Let us have a slimmer, but at the same time stronger, EU. Let us stop trying to keep far too many balls in the air. I propose that you appoint a bold Commissioner to the task of combating trivial extra tasks and petty regulations, and I propose that the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the European Union, COSAC, be given the ability to stop legislation that violates the subsidiarity principle. In return, the Commission must be strong so that the European Union is energetic in the other areas.

 
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