Olli Rehn Quotes (22 Quotes)

Turkey's fit to open the negotiations with the European Union,

This is a litmus test whether Turkey is seriously committed to the freedom of expression and reforms that enhance the rule of law and benefit all Turkish citizens.

It is now high time to complete the work, locate, arrest and transfer Ratko Mladic to The Hague without delay and if that is not the case in the next few days then we have no other option than to call off the next negotiation round.

It is high time that Serbia reaches full co-operation with the ICTY. That is the way to avoid the disruption of the negotiations, that the negotiations would be put on hold when the next round takes place.

Serbia still has some weeks to achieve full cooperation -- roughly at the end of March.

Significant efforts are needed to effectively combat organized crime and corruption, especially at high level.

We can say that after a long night, there's a new dawn now for the Western Balkans,

Before April 5, we'll have to decide whether we can hold the negotiation round or whether this negotiation round will have to be put on hold because of lack of full cooperation by Serbia.

Four years ago, in 2001, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was on the brink of civil war, ... Now in 2005 it is seriously knocking on the European Union's door. That is a major achievement.

Serbia truly is at a crossroads today. It's clear 2006 is a year of major challenges.

They can count on it that the EU will in principle use the same logic and calculations as during the expansion from 15 to 25.

The agreement ... paves the way for a smooth adoption of the negotiating framework and thus the opening of the accession negotiations with Turkey,

Serbia has a concrete and tangible EU perspective, but Serbia has to make sure that its future is not taken hostage to certain obstacles.

Suspension of negotiations is certainly one alternative, and I expect that the Serbian government will take this message very seriously. Serbia has to chose now between its nationalist past and a European future.

I am confident we will have a positive outcome and start negotiations (with Turkey) tomorrow.

I hope member states can soon agree on what the accession of a 28th member state would mean in terms of the composition of the commission and voting rights in the council,

Today indeed marks the start of a new phase in the relationship between European Union and Serbia and Montenegro,

The agreement between the member states paves the way for a smooth adoption of the negotiating framework and thus the opening of the accession negotiations with Turkey on Oct. 3,

This issue involves the Greek Cypriots. Unless the Turkish parliament ratifies the additional protocol, going ahead in negotiations will not be possible.

Bold and significant reforms have been undertaken in Turkey in the last couple of years. However, the pace of change has slowed in 2005 and even though there is progress in implementation it still remains uneven. Therefore, significant further efforts are needed,

If Serbia-Montenegro still fails to achieve full cooperation with the (International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia) we cannot avoid disruption of the negotiations.

In the months to come, particular attention must be paid to actual implementation and enforcement of the reforms,