Eneko LANDABURU, Director General of European Commission Directorate General for External Relations, under the Responsibility of Commissioner Chris Patten.

00:25
Exteriors: the Charlemagne building, headquarter of the European Commission External Relations Directorate General

Interview

On the European perspectives of the Balkan region and possible date of entry into the EU

01:08
The political reality is that the European citizens demand of us today to determine Europe's borders. How far should we stretch?Our citizens have a hard time understanding our enlargement and therefore it is important to clarify things. As far as the Balkans region is concerned, nobody is questioning the fact that the Balkans is a part of Europe. It is possible to discuss Turkey, the Caucasus or other regions but in the case of Balkans it is quite obvious that this is a part of Europe. The Balkans form an integral part of Europe's culture and history and are the heart of Europe. Nobody is questioning wether they will enter Europe but, rather, when? Honestly, it is not possible to give an answer to that at this moment. This will depend on the will of its citizens, wether they want to become a part of Europe; Europe cannot be imposed. The citizens of Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia should know wether they wish to join Europe. And then, certain conditions need to be fulfilled, such as have already been met by Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia…One does not become a member of the EU and NATO in the same manner. It is easier to become a member of NATO.To becoming an EU member presumes a fundamental choice of a type of society. This presumes internal changes that take time. Meeting of such conditions enables the determination of a date of entry. In case of the current acceding countries, in 2000 the date of entry was still unclear. We speeded up the negotiations in 2001 and 2002 and were able thus in 2003 to set a date. Membership in the EU presumes a deep historical change. I am a Spaniard and upon becoming a member of the EU the perspectives of my country, it's place in the world, economic perspectvies,etc. were totally trasnformed.This is a major change and compared to a historical project, several years are not a lot.

Can the EU with 30 plus member states function?

03:55
It is quite clear that with the accession of the ten new members, turbulances in the functioning of the EU occured.If the EU does not function well this is not because of the ten new members; the same applies if it functions well. However, with the new members joining, difficulties are bound to arise such as how to find solutions for the well-functioning of the EU with 25,27,30 or, hopefully, even more states in the future. It is quite clear that with the Balkan countries and Turkey joining, problems in the internal functioning of the EU are likely to arise and it would be better to deal with such issues early on. What is the fundamental political issue? The question concerns how to move forward in the process of EU integration with all members moving at the same pace simultaneously. Personally, I do not believe this is going to happen. We need to preserve the internal market, regional politics of solidarity and those wishing to progress faster in the areas of external politics or defence may constitute special groups and act separately while remaining within the same framework. Therefore, I think that there is enough room for more than 30 countries in the EU if we are intelligent enough to designate the institutional framework and the objectives.

On regional cooperation

05:39
Regional integration of the Balkan states is not a precondition for coming closer to the EU.The conditions pertain to each country in relation to its own rhythm and willpower. Nevertheless, we are in favour of regional cooperation within the Balkans because we deem that this is a factor of economic prosperity, political stability and cultural reconciliation. The more people cooperate ( this pertains to the world in general;at the moment we are carrying out negotiations with Latin America and Asia),in today's world which we consider as dangerous, complex and replete with threats. Regional cooperation is a factor of stability that consolidates democratic values and this is important to us. However, I repeat, this is not a condition for entrance into the EU. We are hoping for this but everyone has the freedom to decide for themselves.

07:17
If the countries in question would like to share our destiny, if they want to become a member of a family, they have to act like members of that family.Normally,in a family, there is such a thing as conversation and cooperation. We, here in Brussels are not the ones to say that you, Bosnians have to conclude such and such an agreement with Serbia. We do not have the required legitimacy to do so. The only thing we are saying is: because you want to become a part of an integrated world, you have to learn to live together.

On Macedonia's application for EU membership

07:59
We tried to advise the Macedonian government before they reached a decision; the decision has been made now and we take note of the adoption of this decision to submit an application for membership on the 26 February 2004. That is all I can say in regards. What we said to them before was to think carefully before deciding to take such a significant step. It is not a matter of gaining short-term political effects in respect to the process of coming closer to the EU. It is about fulfilling the requirements in order to pass a long path and make it shorter. Macedonia has made a decision to apply, we will examine this request and see wether there are the conditions necessary to initiative accession negotiations from the day the analysis has been made, like we did in the case of Croatia.

On Croatia's new government and its EU perspective

09:09
The last elections in Croatia and the new leader has adopted extremely clear positions on his preparedness to let Croatia not waste time on its path to Europe. I have to underline that in the beginning we had political doubts which have been totally dispelled after the Prime Minister's visit to Brussels. We are following closely the political situation, the Croatian government has given several positive political signals, the first step being the inclusion of several Ministers of Serbian minority parties into the Croatian government. The government has open contacts with Ms. Carla del Ponte and we see that Croatia is continuing the right path in order to remove all obstacles on its way to Europe. There is still blockade of the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement on the part of Great Britain because of its clear requirement for better cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia in the Hague. It remains to be seen, the European Commission is preparing an AVIS and we are working hard on it. As far as I can say, politically, I think that things are moving in the right course; there is a fundamental criterion for membership, everyone needs to be judged by their own merits and capacities to fulfil the requirements in order to join the club. This will determine wether Croatia will enter the EU before others do or not.

On the political crisis in Serbia and Montenegro

11:22
Serbia and Montenegro plays a key role in the future of the Balkans; Serbia, because of historical and cultural considerations, obviously. The elections in Serbia have shown a certain number of political tendencies that we take note of. We were shocked by the murder of Prime Minister Djindjic. Now we are waiting to see better the democratic forces and forces which are determined to put Serbia on the track of development and democracy,whether those forces are capable of forming a government and to continue the necessary reforms that would bring it closer to Europe. At the moment we are observing the situation in the hope that the political forces close to our general ideology will succeed in imposing changes in the desired direction.Everything that is happening in a country influences others and the political position of a government has repercussions for other states. Personally, I am of the opinion that whatever happens in Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia will continue going on the path to Europe. This is what I can say today but politics is an evolving process and changes are possible. The process of coming closer to Europe is something individual for each country; it is not the Balkans entering the EU. Today it is Slovenia , which once used to be a part of Yugoslavia. Therefore, there is differentiation. Everybody has to bear responsibility for themselves , to chose their own destiny.

When will Bosnia and Herzegovina start the Stabilisation and Association Process negotiations?

14:06
The Association and Stabilisation negotiations are an economic, legal and political framework for the reforms and a path to Europe for a country; wether Bosnia and Herzegovina will be ready for SAA negotiations, which we would be glad to see. However, the document we adopted in December 2003 was quite straightforward. We told our friends in Bosnian and Herzegowina, if you fulfill the 16 points that need improvement, once you have done this, we can begin to negotiate. There are different points included, i.e., the
ability to improve the budget capacities, the necessity to have a serious commercial policy and also the cooperation with the Hague all of which is being closely examined and we are encouraging the local authorities to deliver. I promise you, that when all 16 points are met, there will be no more obstacles to start the negotiations.

On the state of SAP negotiations with Albania

15:57
Patience is required. One cannot demand from Albania with its specific history to undergo in just a few months transition from economy hit hard by the previous regime and to, all at once, see it functioning as if market economy always existed. Eastern countries needed more than ten years to complete this transition; to pass from authoritative political society into a democratic one. This you cannot achieve over night. Coming from Spain which underwent dictatorship, traces of which are still visible in individual and collective behaviour. You cannot turn a leaf just like that from a black reality, there are the consequences. Francois Mitterand said that you should give time to time. Everybody has to follow his own rhythm, we shouldn't force things. We should be very ambitious in our goals but we should allow time for transformation. Albania has its own problems and we are negotiating at the allowable pace. We are pushing as much as possible but they have to implement changes for themselves. We are helping them, the government is really trying to effect changes, politics is a difficult art, words are not sufficient, deeds are necessary. Furthermore, coherence between words and deeds. There is always tension between the possible and impossible, a lot of will is required and also humility.

On the status of Kosovo and of the SAP negotiations

18:34
We are asking ourselves a lot of questions and the answers are not easy. Before a decision can be reached, it is necessary for people from Kosovo and the region to have political serenity. Such a difficult problem cannot be solved in a tense situation replete with hate and rejection; time is needed. I apologise for reverting to my nationality constantly, but during the 1930s there was civil war in Spain and this hurts. Time is necessary for things to calm down. And only with the help of serenity surrounded by international wisdom a solution can be found. This is not an easy task. We, the European Commission today are offering full support to the work of the UN. Koffi Annan visited Brussels the day before yesterday, we talked about the situation a little bit and it is clear that our strategy is to follow the UN's lead in order to try and improve the living conditions. We will see afterwards what stages need to be achieved but I would advise to be prudent in relation to this situation before one heads in a specified direction. A lot of discussion is necessary among us and over there (in Kosovo) as well.

20:40
Set-up shots