On the occasion of his official visit in Greece Commissioner Štefan Füle, responsible for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy delivered a speech in an event on ‘EU Enlargement: The European Agenda as a Driver for Reforms’ organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, on 1 October 2012 , at 12.15. His speech was as follows:
Your Excellencies, Members of Parliament, Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m delighted to have the opportunity to talk to you today about the European Agenda as a Driver for reforms. I know that in Greece the focus is all on the economic crisis at present. Everything else appears to be secondary. Knowing your difficulties one might wonder is this the right time to be dealing with enlargement? The same question applies, though not so acutely, throughout the European Union. Despite the difficulties you are facing, you have kept your enlargement agenda open. I am very happy that this is your position, which coincides with ours. We are already looking ahead and working with you for 2014.
Greece has contributed a lot to the European Union’s enlargement policy. We remember the important role that you played just over nine years ago in Thessaloniki when the European perspective of the Western Balkans was unequivocally highlighted. You knew that enlargement was the best tool to deliver on our vision of peace, stability and cooperation in your region. And the enlargement policy has delivered. It has had a hugely stabilising impact on your neighbours in the Western Balkans. Less than twenty years the Balkans were seen as a place of destruction and despair. Now it is consolidating peace and stability. The rule of law has been strengthened, fundamental rights and minority rights are broadly respected and remaining challenges are being best addressed within a clear perspective of European Union membership.
And the enlargement agenda is playing an important role in relations with Turkey. European Union-Turkey relations are marked by a strong common strategic interest and equally strong challenges. Despite the current difficulties in our relations, the European Union needs Turkey and Turkey needs the European Union. Turkey is key to stability in the European Union’s wider neighbourhood and a very important economic partner.
I strongly believe it is in the interest of Greece that your biggest neighbour is a stable democracy with a thriving economy and with whom you have good neighbourly relations. That is why I am pleased that Turkey has reaffirmed its commitment to European Union accession through its engagement in the positive agenda, which supports and complements the accession process. It is through the accession process that the European Union remains the benchmark for reforms in Turkey, and it is in our common interest to get it back on track. I know that more needs to be done with Turkey on the issue of illegal migration and border management. This is currently discussed with Member States and I count on the support of Greece for a swift handover of the visa roadmap for Turkey which should trigger a virtuous cycle that will make the management of Greece’s borders with Turkey a lot easier.
I am pleased that the enlargement agenda for the Western Balkans is moving ahead:
• Croatia is on track with its accession preparations and will join on 1 July 2013;
This demonstrates that when there is a strong consensus within society to push through the hard but necessary reforms, the European Union keeps its commitments. It also confirms that the road to enlargement facilitates reconciliation and helps to resolve the remaining challenges of the region.
• Accession negotiations have started with Montenegro;
• Serbia has been granted candidate status;
Our relations with Serbia have now moved to a much higher level with a focus on the progress that Serbia has made on further normalisation of relations between Belgrade and Pristina and on continuity and delivery of reforms, in particular in key areas like the judiciary and the fight against corruption. We are confident that Serbia will play an important role in regional cooperation underpinning and enhancing reconciliation in a region that suffered major conflicts in the recent past.
• Other candidate and potential candidates in the Western Balkans are also moving forward on the accession path.
All this progress is based on reforms implemented by those countries, reforms driven by the European agenda; reforms that change countries for the better.
I don’t want to give the impression that all this progress has been easy. It hasn’t. There have been delays in reforms but also blockages in the accession process due to outstanding bilateral issues. In response, we have been creative and have kept the show on the road, maintaining momentum through country specific approaches. These initiatives act as bridges, not above or around accession negotiations, but towards them.
We still face a number of well-known challenges in most enlargement countries that concern the rule of law. These include:
• Strengthening the judiciary;
• The fight against corruption and organised crime;
• Public administration reform; and
• Ensuring fundamental rights and freedom of expression.
We have learnt lessons from previous enlargements which have shown how important it is to address these issues in depth at an early stage in negotiations. This new approach has anchored the rule of law at the centre of the accession process, laying the foundations also for future negotiations.
I want to turn now to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We know how sensitive the name issue is and we know how important it is for you, the region and the European Union that the country moves ahead with reforming and overcoming nationalist tendencies.
With our active support through the High Level Accession Dialogue, the country has shown renewed impetus for EU related reforms. The Commission has recommended the opening of accession negotiations. Opening negotiations should create a win-win situation; it would boost reforms and consolidate inter-ethnic relations. It should also create a favourable environment for urgently reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue.
It is important to move beyond the name issue. We support the process of finding a solution and we are willing to provide all the help that we can to that end.
Allow me to conclude by saying a few words about another major challenge which is crucial for long term stability and security: economic development. The crisis has shown us how interdependent national economies are and your region is no exception. Your economic recovery is important for the region and stability and growth in the region is important for your economic recovery.
In the Western Balkans Greece is a major investor, banker, trader and creator of jobs. The enlargement process is a tool for stimulating growth which benefits most direct neighbours. The opening of the borders and the Stabilisation and Association Agreements provide a very good framework for growth by trade. Despite the crisis, the Western Balkans countries continue trading more with the European Union. One main obstacle to trade is bad infrastructure and demanding logistics. The Western Balkans are part of the European Union priority corridors and we invest European Union funds and pre-accession assistance to improve their transport links and cut down on the cost and time for logistics.
European Union related reforms, which focus on the rule of law and alignment to the European Union rules, have positive spill over effects on the business environment and thus to foreign investors in the Western Balkans.
In response to the economic crisis, the European Union has already embarked on making far reaching changes to its economic governance. We want to associate enlargement countries to this process as this will enhance the resilience of their economies and create favourable conditions for growth and jobs already before they join.
Our enlargement policy is driving reforms leading to deep democratic and economic transformation in countries seeking to join. I am confident that with our continued cooperation and assistance, each of the countries involved will show the necessary willingness and ability to overcome the remaining challenges. On its side, the European Union must ensure the credibility of its enlargement policy by continuing to support the enlargement countries and their European perspective. In this respect I believe Greece has a key role to play in the South Eastern part of our continent.
Thank you.’