Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, President of the Commission, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, you have come here today, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, with the satisfaction of having done your duty, and you deserve the most sincere congratulations from my group, the Group of the European People’s Party, for having been able to take this historic step under your presidency and with your government, in which I would like to highlight in particular the work of our esteemed former colleague Mr Bertel Haarder. You made a comparison, saying that the race you have run is a long-distance race. I believe that under the Danish Presidency this has been more like a race against time, or even a one-legged race, and you have won it. I believe you deserve special congratulations for that. It is now up to us, as Members of the European Parliament, and all the members of Member State Parliaments and those in countries that are already part of an enlarged Europe, to take the next steps, and we must not underestimate the importance of dialogue with public opinion, as well as fulfilling our duties. I would reiterate President Prodi’s words, when he said that there is going to be an information campaign in which we must all participate. We are prepared to discuss the budget for this campaign immediately. I would also like to congratulate the Commission – as the negotiating body – its President, Commissioner Verheugen, and please allow me to mention also the Director-General for Enlargement, Mr Landáburu, with whom I have had the opportunity to fight against Franco’s dictatorship and for European integration. I believe he has acted seriously, using his experience, in this process. Just one question, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, in relation to the democratic process of integrating these countries – and I see you have incorporated the proposal made by Mr Hänsch, which was adopted by the European Parliament, that these countries might be able to take part in the 2004 elections. The question is transition. You said, having taken decisions, that you are going to consult Parliament before the end of January. Are these consultations on consumer issues or is it an interinstitutional agreement? Many issues are currently under discussion. For example, I do not know if you have decided whether, in accordance with the Treaty of Nice, there will be one or two commissioners, depending on the country, until 2005. Will this change or not? That is a question that I believe must be discussed, as well as the changes in the Commission: will there be a second Polish Commissioner for three months or not? What will happen about Members of Parliament? We will need to discuss this, but the issue is whether there will be an agreement on this point. I have just one comment to make with regard to Turkey: I believe our Turkish friends should be told that they missed a great opportunity, during the week of the Sakharov Prize, to let Mrs Leila Zana come here. Those of us who are in favour of Turkey entering the European Union continue to maintain that what is needed in Turkey is a democracy in which civil power takes precedence over military power. That is the key issue and that is the question that must be put clearly to our Turkish friends. As for Cyprus, perhaps Turkey will now have an objective interest in the ever present Mr Denktash changing his mind and finding a solution for February in order to achieve full integration of the whole island. Mr President, with regard to the Middle East you made a bold statement and I believe we must support it as we cannot agree to put the Quartet’s proposals on hold, as the United States would like, and we should also welcome the fact that the Commission has freed up funding for the Palestinian elections. I believe Europe has serious responsibilities at the present time with regard to the Middle East. Lastly, Mr President, I would also like to express my group’s deep dissatisfaction with the way in which the Council and the Commission are approaching the problem of the Prestige disaster. There has not been equal treatment in terms of what the President mentioned concerning the German and Austrian situation and that of Central Europe, because no fund has been created; existing funds have simply been re-allocated. I can tell you that there is disappointment and resentment in my country and a problem that extends to other parts of the Union. I shall end, Mr President, by saying that now that Denmark has taken this historic step, please, move closer to us, and remove the barriers that still exist in terms of citizenship and the common currency on Denmark’s part. I am sure you will do this. (Applause)

Political group: PSE