RESOLUTION A3-0125/93

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Mr Canavarro's motion for a resolution on Bulgaria (B3-0637/92),

-having regard to the agreement between the European Community and Bulgaria on trade and commercial and economic cooperation,

-having regard to the European Commission guidelines on the future of relations between the European Community and Central and Eastern Europe,

-having regard to the successful conclusion of the negotiations between the European Community and Bulgaria which led on 8 March 1993 to the signing of a European association agreement,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A3-0125/93),

A.whereas the Bulgarian Government has made great efforts since the elections on 13 October 1991 to democratize the political system, to restore minority rights and to introduce economic reforms with a view to establishing a market economy,

B.whereas Bulgaria should pursue the course mapped out after the elections on 13 October 1991, whatever hazards it may encounter in its political life,

C.whereas Bulgaria needs substantial economic and technical aid from the countries of the G24, and especially the European Community, to modernize its economic system and infrastructure,

D.whereas its energy situation continues to cause concern and the Kozloduy nuclear power station still poses a threat to Bulgaria and neighbouring countries,

E.whereas Bulgaria, a Balkan country that adjoins the former Yugoslav Federation, should continue to play a stabilizing role in the region,

F.whereas Bulgaria has a common frontier with the European Community; whereas it is therefore appropriate to develop cross-frontier cooperation of mutual benefit,

G.whereas the European Community should encourage Bulgaria to develop its relations with Romania, since the latter is also linked to the European Community by an association agreement,

H.whereas Bulgaria's history and culture make it an essential component of the European family; whereas its contribution has been overlooked for too long owing to now outdated historical circumstances,

1.Supports the establishment of closer links between the European Community and Bulgaria under a European association agreement;

2.Considers that the Community must attach the same importance to its relations with the countries of south-eastern Europe as it does to its relations with other countries of central-eastern Europe;

3.Welcomes the decision taken in Moscow on 16 December 1992 by five Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria (through a major Bulgarian bank) via the Association of Clearing Banks, to introduce a multilateral, multi-currency payment system using the ECU as an accounting and payment currency;

4.Hopes that the cooperation process between the European Community and Bulgaria will also encompass Romania, one of Bulgaria's neighbours, and affirms that relations between the European Community on the one hand and Bulgaria and Romania on the other should continue to evolve in parallel, so that negative tendencies may be prevented from emerging in one or other country (affecting in particular the process of democratization and respect for human and minority rights) should either ever feel excluded from the process of integration into the family of European nations;

5.Calls on the countries of south-eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, to develop their mutual relations and to cooperate with the countries of the Visegrad group so as to strengthen the links between the European Community and all these countries;

6.Notes that Bulgaria's position concerning the recognition of the republics of the former Yugoslavia is different to that of the European Community;

7.Welcomes the process of cooperation between the countries bordering on the Black Sea and hopes that such cooperation can go hand in hand with the development of relations between the European Community and those countries;

8.Emphasizes, therefore, the importance of political dialogue, for which the association agreement will provide, in dealing with the problems of peace and stability in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and also around the Black Sea; hopes that at least once a year this dialogue will be held at multilateral level through its extension to include all the Central and Eastern European countries linked to the European Community by an association agreement;

9.Urges the Commission to step up, through the PHARE programme, the European Community's activities in Bulgaria - in association with the G24 and the EBRD - with a view to helping to modernize Bulgaria's economy and finding a solution to its energy problems that also respects the environment; calls on the Commission to deliver regular statements with regard to the progress which has been achieved on the programmes concerning the nuclear power station of Kozloduy - as well as the other nuclear power plants in countries of Balkan, Central and Eastern Europe -, the functioning of which still constitutes a very serious threat for the inhabitants of the region, and more generally of Europe;

10.Calls for maximum efforts to be made within the framework of cooperation between the Community and Bulgaria to implement joint programmes to protect and improve the environment and introduce economic and technological measures that are compatible with 'sustainable development' as advocated by the UNCED conference in Rio de Janeiro in January 1992;

11.Calls on the Commission to encourage and support cross-frontier cooperation between Bulgaria and Greece, particularly with regard to transport infrastructure; calls for an environment-friendly long-term policy to be adopted when developing new transport routes which focuses in particular on rail, sea and waterway transport, and for accurate environmental impact assessments to be carried out when planning long-distance road links;

12.Considers that particular attention and support should be given to cultural and scientific cooperation, youth exchanges, the activities of non-governmental voluntary organizations, town-twinning schemes and any activities which help foster greater understanding between Community and Bulgarian citizens;

13.Is aware of the historical importance in the transition towards a 'new democratic Bulgaria' of the legal, socio-economic and political position of minorities, who have been so badly treated in the past, and of the great value placed on guarantees of religious, linguistic and cultural pluralism in a democracy where the rights of all minorities must be respected and safeguarded;

14.Stresses in particular the importance of the fair treatment of the Turkish minority who were recently so brutally mistreated by the Communist dictatorship;

15.Attributes the greatest importance to guarantees concerning the continuation of political and economic reforms and the protection of human and minority rights with a view to its opinion on the future association agreement;

16.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Bulgarian Government and Parliament.