European Commission, Western Balkans Conference Vienna 2014, Vienna, 3 June 2014:
Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy: "Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Let me thank the Austrian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the invitation to speak to you today and
for hosting this important event. 100 years ago, one of the greatest
catastrophes Europe has ever seen was unleashed. Following the events in
Sarajevo, the First World War took the lives of 17 million people.
Tragically, it took another
World War before the European nations turned the page on history and
began laying the foundation for a common future. Starting from a
community for coal and steel and then an economic community encompassing
six countries, successive enlargements made the European Union the
world's most successful peace project with now 28 member states and more
than 500 million citizens.
This journey has not come to an
end. The Thessaloniki Declaration of 2003 reiterated the European
Union's unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western
Balkans. Again, this was the answer to the bloodshed that had occurred
following the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. There was no
ambiguity. The Declaration clearly stated that the future of the Balkans
is within the European Union, a perspective that has been consistently
proclaimed by the European Council ever since.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our enlargement policy continues to be successful in extending further the zone of peace, prosperity and stability in Europe:
• with the entry into the
European Union of a well prepared Croatia, the first country to
successfully graduate from the Stabilisation and Association Process;
• with the start of accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia; and
• with the agreement between
Serbia and Kosovo on normalisation of their relations, which opened the
way for accession talks with Belgrade and negotiations on a
Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Pristina.
These are historic achievements
for which the European Union can be rightly proud and it is no surprise
that the role enlargement plays in keeping Europe stable and peaceful
was reflected also in the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the European
Union in 2012.
In this context, I am very
pleased and proud that the European Union, despite the challenges we
have also seen reflected in the results of the recent European
elections, still continues to inspire peoples outside of the Union. This
is not only because of the promise of better and richer life, but it is
primarily because of the values the Union stands for and fights for.
Ladies and gentlemen,
While enlargement has extended
the area of peace and stability in Europe, at the same time, many doubts
have arisen on the level of preparedness of the new Member States.
That's why I have made it the priority of my mandate to further
strengthen the credibility of the enlargement process. While keeping the
process strict but fair, we have put fundamentals first, focusing on
values and principles, including respect for fundamental rights and
freedom of expression.
Two years ago we concentrated on
the first of the three pillars of this story - Rule of Law, which is at
the heart of the enlargement policy. Our "new approach" means
deficiencies in each country are tackled early and consistently
throughout the accession process and progress in this area determines
the overall speed of the accession process.
Last year, we added the second
pillar, economic governance and competitiveness and growth, which needs
to underpin the reform agenda in all countries to make it sustainable.
The ultimate objective is to address what really matters – creating an
environment more conducive to investment, growth and jobs.
This year our focus is on the
third and last pillar of the new enlargement story which is on
strengthening of democratic institutions and public administration, with
a greater emphasis on the needs of citizens and business. We will not
accept a process which is just about ticking boxes, what needs to be
done is the establishment of solid track records and concrete results on
the ground. That is the only way to ensure that candidate countries
enter the European Union fully prepared.
Looking forward, I see three priorities for enlargement:
1. continuing the process which
we started four years ago to strengthen the credibility and political
side of enlargement and to bring the benefits of enlargement closer to
the citizens;
2. making sure that the two
policies which accompanied the European Union from the very beginning –
enlargement on one hand and deepening of EU integration on the other,
interact also in the future in a reinforcing way to the benefit of the
Union as a whole; and
3. through enlargement, becoming
bigger and stronger, to be better equipped to face the consequences and
use the opportunities of globalisation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The European door remains open
for the Western Balkan countries. We all agree that this is the only way
to ensure stability and peace in this region of Europe plagued by
conflict for far too long. The conditions for getting over the threshold
are clear. It is now up to the political leaders to live up to the
expectation their peoples have and implement the necessary reforms – not
for Europe's benefit, but for the benefit of all citizens.
The Balkans delivered the spark
to ignite the First World War. Now, 100 years later, we should firmly
stick to our commitment to integrate all Western Balkan countries into
the family of the European Union, to anchor them firmly and sustainably
in peace and stability.
And let us not forget, on this
occasion, that there are other countries in our neighbourhood that are
struggling with conflict and violence. We need to find ways to apply the
lessons learnt from Europe's war-stricken history also to them.
Thank you."
[europa.eu]
3/6/14
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