Mr President, Mr Lagendijk has produced a very good report. I would also like to thank Mr Färm sincerely and on behalf of my group, of which I seem to be the only representative here today, thank them both and in general terms agree with everything they have said. I would also like to highlight a couple of things. I think this rapid reaction facility, this way of getting money to crisis regions quickly, efficiently and without bureaucracy, really is a good instrument. In Yugoslavia in particular, as the Commissioner has seen, they were grateful for this really quick and efficient assistance that was only possible because we had this instrument and did not have to use the usual longwinded procedure. I also believe it really must be extended to Macedonia, because something simply must be done to help the difficult political processes. The process is far from being completed. Laws need to be implemented so that the Albanian citizens can see that they really have gained something from these constitutional changes. The region’s Macedonian inhabitants must see that if they behave as is expected in democracies, they will also be rewarded with an improvement in their everyday lives. We agree to everything, we also agree to the reservations Mr Färm has mentioned. But I think the Commission knows all this very well and I am sure it respects it. This brings me back again to the establishment of the agency in Macedonia. In view of the pathetic results of implementation and of spending the money earmarked for this country since 1996, I am of the opinion that it is high time we sought to remedy the situation. Of course, the Macedonian government lacked the will, and we who were down there know they were simply not in a position to do anything. Whether they were unable or unwilling I would not like to say now, but there was a lack of will on the part of the government, and, in the end, the delegation on the spot was unable to give the government the help it needed. The necessary technical assistance that the Commission should have given to this government was lacking. I think it is therefore good that the Commissioner has now thought about measures that can be taken to speed things up. It will be good for the agency, which is doing excellent work in Kosovo – I expect we shall see that in Belgrade next weekend. We want it to be possible for them finally to do what the Macedonians are all waiting for and I have nothing against it being used. However, Commissioner, my problem is that there is so much tinkering around going on now. Now it is being done in Macedonia. I do not know when you will be so effective again next time. I would very much like to see a structure for this work in the region, and I would like to hear from you this evening whether you are willing or able to produce a scheme that will either, deconcentrate the delegations and enable them to do this work, or that you intend to deploy such agencies in the whole region. I believe you owe us an answer on that this evening and I hope that this evening you will tell us how soon you, in the Commission, believe you can lay such a scheme before us. On this condition, I am prepared to give you my unreserved best wishes for setting up this agency because we have all had excellent experience. I do not want to criticise the delegation on the ground here. The delegation on the ground was not able to do what we expected of it because it was not deconcentrated, whatever that means, and it could not give the technical assistance. In that regard, I really am looking for a longer term scheme from you so that all the countries down there can feel they are being treated, more or less, equally and I think that is also important if we are to avoid creating rivalries between them.

Political group: PPE-DE