Toespraak staatssecretaris van Europese Zaken Dowgielewicz over toetreding Kroatië

Secretary of State for European Affairs Mikolaj Dowgielewicz took part in the debate preceding the European Parliament’s vote on the accession of Croatia to the European Union. Below please find excerpts from the Minister’s speech:

• - 

  Enlargement is one of the most successful policies of the European Union. European integration has as one of its primary objectives the strengthening of peace, stability and reconciliation. Enlargement is one of the main instruments for reaching these objectives. At a time when the Union is facing significant challenges, the accession of Croatia reminds us of the reasons why Europeans have chosen to cooperate in the unique framework that is the European Union. It reminds us of the extraordinary success of European integration, as witnessed by the aspirations of others to become part of that success.
• - 

  One of the cornerstones of the renewed consensus on enlargement is the ‘own merits principle’ - candidates’ progress according to their own efforts meeting the strict conditionality laid down by the EU. This conditionality is essential ensuring that they are ready for membership. Membership in the EU brings of course significant benefits, but it also brings with it obligations. These obligations themselves serve to ensure that all citizens are able to take full advantage of the membership. This has a direct bearing on the credibility of the whole enlargement policy.
• - 

  Accession of Croatia is significant for the whole region. It is a very positive sign and it should be read as such a positive sign to foster stability, peace, prosperity and reconciliation based on good neighbourly relations. The signature of the Treaty should also be a strong encouragement to the other countries in the region to follow the same values, and to progress on reconciliation with neighbours, to show full determination on the road to fulfil the accession criteria. We hope that this will give new momentum to the European perspective of the Western Balkans as a whole, provided that all countries concerned persevere on the path of reform.

data publikacji: 01-12-2011