Ambassador Pope, Ambassador Vlajkov, Minister Joksimovic, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am truly delighted that the Embassies of Bulgaria and Romania have taken the joint initiative of organising this event to mark ten years of membership in the European Union.
This is an excellent opportunity to celebrate both your countries having become respectively the 26th and 27th members of the Union. And it is also an occasion to recall the achievements of what has been a highly successful policy of the EU over the last twenty years, namely its enlargement.
I have visited both your countries several times during my two mandates in Serbia, together with my family. During each visit I have been struck first and foremost by the tremendous warmth of the welcome we received, by the friendliness of people everywhere. Not to mention fantastic scenery, gorgeous Black Sea coastlines and stunning cultural heritage – which you have done so much to restore, including with welcome investment from the European Union.
Against the backdrop of the political uncertainty we are all facing in Europe – and elsewhere – it is as well to remind ourselves of the transformative power of the European Union. Your tenth anniversary is an opportunity to do just that.
I recall visits to both of your countries in the 1980s and 1990s. You and your fellow countrymen and women know only too well what it means for freedoms to be throttled under communist dictatorship. The energy which your two countries invested in transforming your political systems and your economies, entrenching democracy and a market economy, showed a gritty determination to succeed.
The European Union was your destination of choice and gave you hope for a better future offering citizens peace, stability and opportunity.
There have been manifold political and economic benefits for Bulgaria and Romania from taking the European Union path. You have brought out those benefits graphically in your remarks today.
But let us not forget that your two countries are also contributing enormously to the European Union project. Your overall trade with other Member States has doubled over the last ten years, providing a good basis for further growth and future prosperity. You have shown the way by pressing ahead with necessary reforms. Above all, Bulgaria and Romania have helped to bring renewed stability and security to South-East Europe.
I am reminded every day of the contribution which your countries are making to the future success of the EU’s enlargement policy. Talented Bulgarian and Romanian staff in my Delegation in Serbia, in other delegations in the region, and in the Commission in Brussels, are making a crucial contribution to delivering further enlargement – sharing their experience and expertise and helping our overall effort to back the path of reform – to back the EU path for Serbia and other countries in this region.
Your two countries are both strong supporters of enlargement, including for Serbia. Both of your countries have active cross-border co-operation programmes funded by the EU and bringing together communities in all three countries. Ambitious plans are being forged for greater connectivity, road improvements, gas pipelines, which will bring benefits to business and citizens alike.
So yes, there is indeed much to celebrate – and much to look forward to – provided that we remember our common European values and our common European destiny.
