Strasbourg, 16/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - We hope that the citizens of the Slovak Republic will be able to vote in the European Parliament elections, in 2004, asserted on Wednesday the Slovak President, Rudoff Schuster, when speaking to the European Parliament, and when recalling that more than 70% of Slovaks support their country's accession to the EU. We do not hide the fact, said Mr Schuster, of our ambition to enter the Union at the same time as the countries that are our partners in the Visegrad cooperation process (Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland).
For Slovakia, 2000 was "the years of the economy", with the continuation of reforms launched in 1998, and this structural adjustment process, admits Mr Schuster, sometime has painful consequences for the weakest levels of the population: though the present phase of reform, which is also the most difficult, should lead to positive results. 2001, he added, will be the "year of legislation": the Slovak Parliament adopted, in February, the constitutional amendment that established the legal premises for Slovak integration into the EU, amendment that foresees in an explicit manner that the Slovak Republic could delegate the undertakings of certain of its powers to the European Union. The Slovak legal system, underlined President Schuster, is based on the principals of democracy and the rule of law, with all that this includes as guarantees of the rights and freedoms of citizens: but he did not hesitate asserting that unemployment and economic difficulties in certain regions have created serious problems for the national Roma minority. In my opinion, the search for effective solutions, while noting that this is not only Slovak problem, but also a European problem. The visit by Commissioner Verheugen to the Roma communities in Slovakia is emblematic of the undertaking to adopt a common approach in the area. The basic principal is that it is necessary to involve the Roma in the solution to their problems, and it is precisely this active participation by the representatives that is foreseen in the move to overcome these difficulties on the initiative of Mr Schuster. The latter notes that the "paternalist approach" which dominated until now has not encouraged the development of a democratic mentality and a political conscience among the Roma, and felt that the solution to this problem requires the involvement of this generation and also the next.
With regards to the next IGC on EU institutional reform, Mr Schuster is convinced that the candidate countries should contribute towards the debates as of the preparatory phase. I cannot imagine that the future members of a family are left in front of a closed door, while the other discuss important issues, that concern us all, he said. As we all want a strong Europe, it would not be opportune to delay enlargement due to unfounded fears of the "dilution" of the Union. I am convinced that Slovakia and the other candidates are no less prepared for the future development of integration than certain members of the Union, comments the Slovak President. Integration also means the creation of a European identity, identification with a certain group. I have no fear of loosing sovereignty after access, concluded Mr Schuster, as, for me, accession will be a true completion of the sovereignty of our country.