Activities of Eduard KUKAN related to 2012/2025(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Enlargement: policies, criteria and the EU’s strategic interests (debate)
Amendments (17)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the policy of integration over the past decade has shown that enlargement benefits the EU as a whole and allows it to be better positioned to address global challenges;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas enlargement has been a success storyful process for the EU and Europe as a whole, in helping to overcome the division of the Cold War, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity throughout Europe, stimulating reforms and consolidating liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, as well as the market economy;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas 20 years after the Copenhagen summit the moment has come for a general re-evaluation of the accession criteria, ofthe Copenhagen criteria, which define the eligibility of a country for EU membership, lie in the centre of the EU enlargement policy; whereas the established procedures and of enlargement policy as a wholestrategy should be regularly reviewed; whereas Parliament contributes to improving the transparency and accountability of enlargement and thereby increasing public support for this process;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the prospect of accession has a significant transformative impact on the socio-political, socio-economic and cultural landscape of the countries wishing to join, and acts as a powerful incentive for pursuing the necessary political, economic and legislative reforms and the strengthening of peace, stability and, reconciliation based onand good neighbourly relations; whereas this makes enlargement the essence of the EU's soft power and an important element of its external action;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas, commitment, conditionality and credibility have been situated at the core of the accession process;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas each country aspiring to EU membership has to be judged on its own merits in fulfilling the same set of criteria; whereas the pace of the accession process should be dictated by effective compliance with the accession criteria, as well as fulfilment of the priorities of the Accession Partnership and the negotiating framework; whereas the degree of compliance with the requirements for membership has to be assessed in the most fair and transparent fashion;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Strongly believes that enlargement needs to continue to beremain a credible policy; considers it,underlines therefore, the important for the EUce to fulfil the promisecommitments already made towards candidate and potential candidate countries and to create the conditions for ensuring that future enlargements are successful;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. ConsiderStresses that the Copenhagen criteria continue to represent a valuable basis and should remain at the heart of enlargement policy; underlines, however, the need to keep the economic subcriteria up to date in line with recent developments in the sphere of economic governance, while taking due account of their social implications for the candidate and potential candidate countriesneed to be at the heart of the enlargement policy;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. TBelieves that the pace at which each country advances towards membership depends mainly on its performance in meeting the established criteria and conditions; takes the view that the principle of strict conditionality requires that the progress of a countryin adopting and implementing the criteria is effectively assessed at every stage of the process, and that countries wishing to join the EU should proceed from one stage to the next only once all the conditions have been met at each stage; notes, however, certain tendencies to exaggeration, and recommends avoiding requiring of candidate and potential candidate countries higher standards than those applying in the EU; stresses the importance of setting transparent and fair benchmarks throughout the process; furthermore stresses the importance of setting transparent and fair benchmarks throughout the process, which should translate the general membership criteria into concrete steps towards the accession, while not creating additional conditions for the candidate and potential candidate countries;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to maintain and further develop a toolbox that draws on conditionality and experience from previous enlargements, and to intensify its monitoring of progress in the accession process, so as to ensure that candidate and potential candidate countries achieve a high degree of preparedness which will benefit both them and the EU;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Encourages greater and meaningful participation by civil society and non-state actors in the accession process; stresses that civil society can work as an important engine of approximation with the EU and create bottom-up pressure for the implementation of the European agenda; calls for additional financial support, inter alia via the Civil Society Facility;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Reiterates its position that bilateral issues should not represent or be used as an obstacle in the accession process, but should be addressed in a constructive spirit and as early as possibleas early as possible in the accession process in a constructive and good neighbourly spirit, taking account of the EU's overall interests and its values; stresses that the accession negotiations should not be used to pre-empt the final settlement of such issues, notwithstanding the obligation to fully comply with the acquis and respect the principles on which the EU itself is founded;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the EU to support efforts to resolve outstanding disputes, including border disputes, before accession; in line with the provisions of the UN Chareiterates its call on the Commission and the Council to start developing, in accordance with the EU Treaties, a generally applicable arbitration mechanism aimed at solving bilateral disputes between enlargement countries and Member States; furthermore, encourages all parties to disputes whose continuation is likely to endanger the preservation of international peace and security to engage constructively in their peaceful resolution in line with the provisions of international law and the UN Charter and, in case of proven inability to reach a bilateral agreement, to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice or to commit themselves to a binding arbitration mechanism of their choice;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports the Commission's commitment to improving the quality of the accession process by making it more merit based, benchmark-driven and transparent; takes the view that this will make the process fairer and more objectively measurable, thus further enhancing its credibility; in this context, recommends that the progress reports should be more assertive and clearer in their demands; stresses that the benchmarks should not set additional conditions for the candidate and potential candidate countries, but should translate the general membership criteria into concrete steps towards accession;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is of the opinion that, in order to maintain the support of the EU's citizens for further enlargement and the commitment of the citizens of the candidate and potential candidate countries to continue with reforms, it is crucial to present them with clear and comprehensive information on the political, socio- economic and cultural benefits of enlargement; considers it essential, in particular, to explain to the public how the pursuing of enlargement policy has brought in its wake new investment and export opportunities for the older Member States, and how it can help attain the EU's objectives in terms of tackling the economic crisis, creating jobs, protecting the environment and mitigating the effects of climate change, and enhancing security and safety, while at the same time accelerating the reform agenda and improving living conditions in the enlargement countries for the benefit of all European citizens; stresses the need to target, as a priority in this regard, young people and trade union all parts of societies, as well as key opinion-formers such as journalists, representatives of civil society and socio- economic actors;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly believes that the EU can still attain great strategic benefits through enlargement policy; emphasises that EU membership represents a stable anchor in the swiftly changing international environment, and that ‘belonging to the club’ continues to offer hope for stability and prosperity, despite the ongoing economic crisis; is of the opinion that enlargement is a long-term strategic concept, which cannot necessarily be measured in terms of short-term balance sheets; considers it important to take due account of its value as representing soft but nevertheless essential power for the EU;