The Hague. During a visit to The Hague on 11 October 2007, Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn addressed the Foreign Affairs Committee/EU Affairs Committee of the Netherlands House of Representatives. He also had a meeting with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Ms Carla Del Ponte, teh press service of the European Commission informed.
“The future of Kosovo is above all a profoundly European matter. Neither Russia nor the United States are as directly affected by the situation in the Balkans as we Europeans are. If the process to determine the status of Kosovo were to fail, it is Europe that will pay the price. This is why we should leave no stone unturned in the search of a negotiated settlement.” - said Commissioner Rehn when addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee/EU Affairs Committee of the Netherlands House of Representatives.
He briefed the Members of Parliament on the EU’s enlargement policy in general and on the state of play in the candidate and potential candidate countries in particular.
Concerning Turkey, he welcomed that the country “has overcome remarkably smoothly its political and institutional crisis this year” and called “on the new government to re-launch the reforms on fundamental freedoms without delay.”
He explained that the services of the Commission are busy to prepare the upcoming reports on the progress achieved in each of the candidate and potential candidate countries: “Our reports will be balanced, fair and rigorous, in line with the motto of our enlargement policy. We must be fair by respecting our commitments made to the countries that are already part of the enlargement process, ie. the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey. On the other hand we must be rigorous when it comes to the fulfilment of the criteria by the candidate and potential candidate countries. Conditionality is the key word. It is quality that matters, not speed.”
In his meeting with the Chief Prosecutor of ICTY, Ms Carla Del Ponte, Olli Rehn reiterated his position, according to which “the condition sine qua non for the signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia remains full cooperation with ICTY that should lead to the arrest and transfer of all remaining fugitives to The Hague Tribunal.” Commissioner Rehn is looking forward to hear the Chief Prosecutor’s comprehensive assessment on the situation on Monday at the Council meeting in Luxembourg.
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