15th EPP Congress
Our future: A strong Europe
17 - 18 October 2002
Estoril - Portugal

Thursday, 17 Oktober 2002

Check against delivery!

Dear colleagues,

It is certainly a joy noticing that the forces of the European People ‘s Party continue to grow. Today, the European People ‘s Party is not only the biggest force in the European Parliament; the parties that cooperate in it are the best answer to the aspirations of the European citizens.

Our Congress comes at a crucial moment for the EU: it comes at the moment of the historic decision on this enlargement. Never before will so many nations accede to such a powerful Union. The burden of responsibility for us is equally great, so as to complete the historic step of our Continent’s reunification and end once and for all the ugly divisions of the past century. The ten leading candidate countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, need all our support and help so they will celebrate with us in Copenhagen, this historic step forward. Here, we must – being the majority and the frontrunners of the EU - commit ourselves fully and irrevocably: these countries fulfill the criteria according to the Commission. For this reason alone we should say to them the final “yes” in Copenhagen.

We have to stand above circumstance, in unison with history. We have undertaken commitments. We have given our word to history and we plan to keep it. We want comprehensive and final decisions in Copenhagen. With no extra terms and no last-minute blackmails.

The enlargement will be a triumph of our common values; values, passionately supported by Nea Demokratia. They are supported because they bring the promise of peace and security, a promise which is equally inspiring to the nations of the Baltic Sea, to the long-separated nations of Central and Eastern Europe, a promise that is vital to long-suffering Cyprus. Without whom, no enlargement can be conceivable.

The hope is there. The promise has been given. We must remain true to our own word. We want a Europe of stars and not a Europe of asterisks. A Europe with footnotes cannot be realized and should not be considered.

Bulgaria and Romania will pave the way for the countries of the Western Balkans, covering up the “Balkan hole” of the enlargement. In the last eighteen months, I have traveled in large areas of Southeast Europe and have met with many of the leaders of this region, in the context of the Western Balkan Democracy Initiative. Today I believe that we are in a position to consider that the activity of the EPP has been appreciated in a greater extent than before. Of great help to this particular Initiative was your support, President Martens’ visits to the area, as well as the relevant forum we organized in Thessaloniki, last April.

But the region still needs our help. The “Balkan hole” in the reunification of our Continent is a hole which the forces of the center and center-right must help to bridge with their policies. There has to be a horizon of togetherness. The Europe of our values cannot leave out the countries of the Western Balkans.

There are also countries, which due to their size and long isolation from our values and practices or due to their geopolitical remoteness from the backbone of Europe, cannot expect to become full members of the EU for the foreseeable future. We have to find ways with which we can encourage their European orientation. Our proposal for the creation of a “European Partnership” with third countries which cannot, or do not want, as it is, to take up the burden of a full accession to the EU, should break some new ground on this issue. The adoption of such a way of thinking by the European People ‘s Party is an indication of our willingness to go to this direction as Parties and as Governments of our new Union.

Dear friends,

It was fairly conceivable, when we embarked in the historic journey of enlargement, that our Union could not function with that many different voices. Now we also need to make certain that we do not end up with a Union of the few and the powerful, neglecting the interests and the will of the medium and smaller nations, in this new Union of twenty-five. If however, our political union is delayed by an even greater tendency to differ and our incapacity to agreement, then we should promote closer political links among those nations truly committed to all the dimensions of the unification. Commitment and not size, should be our basic concern in the next decade. Those who have adopted the euro and consider common policies on security and immigration are naturally inclined to become the motor of a new, even more political Europe. A Europe that -at the same time- becomes more open to the most hesitant.

We should soon all welcome this new Europe. Today we must stand more unified than ever. Europe needs our advice. The EPP is irrevocably tied with the birth, the growth and the success of our European vision. We now are called upon to become its continuance and its future.

Thank you.