Mr President, living through these dramatic hours, we look to Belgrade and hope that a process of democratisation will get underway there which will present us with a real democracy in the course of the next few years. Yet there is still a huge question mark hanging over all this. We want to support and welcome the process, but we must not get carried away. Croatia started building a democracy as long as ten years ago. Democratic elections were held there in 1990, which the international community deemed fair and free. Following these elections the former Communist government, under the leadership of the present Prime Minister, Mr Racan, stepped down in a disciplined manner and a new democratic development began under the Tudjman government. According to the international community though, a few cracks started to develop in this administration, and the situation went downhill from there. We must now consider the bigger picture. Looking back, not only did this country have to rid itself of the burdensome legacy of fifty years of Communist government – and all Central and Eastern European States, including the candidate states still have their work cut out there – a third of this country was occupied by foreign troops under the Dictator Milosevic, who held office at the time and is still in office today. A third of Croatia was occupied, and it was many years before the country was reunited and a democracy established which – and this is a point worth emphasising – led to a peaceful change of government. The current administration did not take over under the conditions faced by, what will hopefully be the future government in Belgrade, because the previous government in Croatia stepped down after free and fair elections, and then a new government took office. It is therefore not quite accurate for the report to talk in terms of democratisation. Democratisation took place in Croatia ten years ago. We must also recognise what remarkable achievements there have been over the past ten years in terms of building a market economy, democracy and a constitutional state. Mr Langendijk is right, some colossal mistakes were made with privatisation. There was corruption on a massive scale, but if you take a look round the associated countries, the candidate states, you will detect the same trend there. The current democratic government in Croatia and its democratic opposition, need our full support. I therefore welcome the fact that we are going to take the decision today to adopt the guarantee payments. But we must be clear in our own minds that this is only a first step in the right direction. Mr Markov was right to point out that funds are scarce, and that this can only be a first step. Our aim must be to forge ahead down this path, not just by providing more funds, but, above all, by sending out political signals. To this end, we must at last conclude an Association Agreement with Croatia, which will spell out that this is a European country that has a definite future as a member of the European Union. I therefore say ‘yes’ to financial aid, and ‘yes’ to this guarantee, but, at the same time, would call upon the Commission most emphatically to lend massive support to this deeply European, and now truly democratic and constitutionally governed country, and to include it in the list of candidate countries, because I believe Croatia has earned our full support. This could send out a signal to the entire region and might lead to its rejuvenation. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE