Today's Date:

Eastern Europe

Ohrid, October 16, 2004

THE MINISTER – (...) Thank you for coming to this meeting of five ministers from the Balkans; five countries which have got into the habit, in the spirit of Dubrovnik, the spirit of Ohrid, of working together and are meeting today at the invitation of the [Macedonian Foreign] Minister, Mrs Ilinka Mitreva, whom I thank very warmly for her welcome. These countries (...) have invited the French Foreign Minister – and I hope, a bit later on, will be inviting other European Union ministers, as well as, very probably, members of the European Commission – to share this opportunity for political dialogue. At any rate, I very much appreciated this invitation and attach great importance to such meetings, to this meeting and to the support France and also the European Union have to give you on the path your five countries have embarked upon, that of European integration.

KOSOVO/ALBANIA/BUS ACCIDENT

Let me say – perhaps because I’ve always believed the European project wasn’t just about politics, technical issues and money, but first of all about men and women – a few words of sympathy to the people of Kosovo and Albania who have just suffered a tragedy costing the lives of 16 young people, and tell you that the hearts of the French go out to you, today, a day of mourning, in this tragedy.

BALKANS/EU

I have come not only in my capacity of French Foreign Minister, but also of a European minister and former European Commissioner, to tell you that we’re going to support each of your countries on the road towards European integration. There are no shortcuts on it, there are stages, requirements, but we want to accompany you on this road. And, as you reminded us, Ilinka, the European project (...) is one of reconciliation – this was the case for France and Germany at the very beginning – of stability, of definitive peace between us, and shared progress. For the Balkans, for you first of all, for the EU, for Europe, the prospect of a future in Europe which you’re being offered and you want to grasp, must have the same result, act in the same way as a lever for achieving permanent reconciliation, peace and shared progress.

This obviously requires efforts from each of these countries. It involves satisfying conditions, prerequisites, like cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, developing the rule of law, fighting organized crime and corruption, and carrying out economic reforms. So there’s a need for a great deal of political courage, and we want to support you, as we did the ten countries which joined us on 1 May and have been doing for Croatia, who’s furthest ahead on the road [to EU accession].

REGIONAL COOPERATION/EU

But alongside the efforts being asked of you, and which we want to support through bilateral cooperation, there's also the work you are doing together, since everything is linked in the Balkans – what happens in one country is of concern and interest to the others, just as it is to the European Union. Through my presence here, I wanted to encourage this regional cooperation between you. And then, we can't just ask you to make efforts, satisfy imperatives and pass milestones, we have to help you, and this is the purpose of this programme of cooperation, of support for your economic development. I have here some concrete figures – there's action not just words: 53 projects have been supported at a total cost of €4 billion, with several already completed; others are under way in the areas of transport, with several corridors crossing the region, cross-border cooperation, energy and training of young executive-level civil servants. These projects are supported by the European Union, and as well as these there is, of course, the bilateral cooperation of individual EU States with your countries. (...)./.