Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, I believe it is fair to say at this point, only a few weeks before the first of May, the date that has been set for the enlargement of the European Union, that all ten acceding countries have made massive efforts over the past decade to prepare themselves for that day. They have taken far greater pains – with profound consequences for their peoples – than we in the European Union have done in preparation for enlargement, as the foregoing debate has demonstrated. I hope that the Cyprus question will also be resolved in time for us to welcome a united Cyprus into the fold on the first of May. At the same time, since this is the last report of this type, I have to say that the authors of the country reports from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights and Common Security and Defence Policy have shown great responsibility and commitment in the performance of their task over these past years, and, as chairman of the committee, I should like to take this opportunity to record my thanks to them. On the first of May the acquis communautaire, the body of established Community law and practice, as defined in the Treaty of Accession, will enter into force in the new Member States along with the associated transitional provisions. This means that there must be no more discrimination in either direction and that we shall continue to set great store by compliance with this acquis. We are sure that the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, will take a similar view. In respect of compliance, however, there are still weaknesses. We do not say this by way of criticism but as a means of helping, of raising awareness, of creating scope for political action to eliminate these weaknesses. We must appreciate that these countries have had to undertake a complete transformation of their political, economic and social systems, that they have had to make the transition from Communist centralism to a more regionalised form of government. It is obvious that all of this cannot be achieved overnight. The same sort of situation obtains with regard to the judicial system, but these weaknesses have implications: if the administrative machinery does not function properly, it will not be able to formulate the regional strategies that are required for access to EU structural funds. The situation is similar with regard to the government departments responsible for agriculture and several other areas of activity. It is therefore in the interests of the acceding countries to do better in these areas. There is therefore a need to keep pursuing the efforts for which the Commission called in its own report last autumn. We must also realise that a non-functioning judicial system implies legal uncertainty in some areas of regional activity, for example. Legal uncertainty invariably acts as a barrier to investment. It is essential to create legal certainty in those areas too. This is not simply a matter of enabling individuals to exercise their rights; it also affects economic development in particular regions. This point is appreciated too, and both factors together are relevant to the fight against corruption. As we have heard today, there is corruption in my country, Germany, and indeed there is corruption in football too. But we must ensure that this cancer, which exists everywhere in varying degrees, does not take a grip of the European Union and jeopardise our general development prospects Another point that needs to be discussed is the fact that the issue of minority rights is not regulated in the same way everywhere. The position of gypsies in some countries, for example, needs to be addressed, and here we hope to see practical improvements. At the same time, we should also recognise that the Baltic States have made strenuous efforts in this historic context with regard to their minorities, and that the situation of these minorities is no reason for not signing or ratifying the boundary treaties with them. We therefore call on Russia to move forward swiftly so that clarity can be established on this issue too. We would like to be sure that the cooperation and partnership agreements will apply to the whole European Union. The principle of no renegotiation must apply to all of them. Nor can compensation be claimed on account of the enlargement of the European Union. On the contrary, we must build bridges at the new borders of the European Union, and we must pave the way for the earliest possible application of the Schengen standards there in order to guarantee internal security and hence be able to open the internal borders. This configuration surely constitutes one of the toughest problems we shall have to solve. Mr President, may I say in conclusion – and I believe I can speak for the entire House here – that we are looking forward to the first of May and to the accession of our new partners. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE