“Everybody should know his own history. When Hungary became a member, if Hungary was rich enough to be a member of the European Union, maybe Hungary would not be a member today. It is also solidarity. It is to make potential out of partners and also democratic values, said Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, for Cooperation and External Market of Luxembourg.
According to Xavier Bettel, there are rules for the EU membership and everybody should follow these rules.
“I don’t want to pick up one country. The fact is, for the moment, we have Moldova and Ukraine on one hand, then we have Georgia, but then we also have the Balkans. I think we have to stick to Copenhagen criteria, which are the backbones to be respected, and I’m waiting because, as you know, there are still discussions, and the Commission needs to take decisions today in Strasbourg, and these conclusions will also be listened in other capitals.
We should not forget that they are not the only two countries that want to join the EU. The Balkans made a lot of efforts in the last years. Can you imagine what Ukraine has done in the last few years, especially last month, in the situation they live in? It’s amazing. We should also not underestimate it,” he said.
Xavier Bettel added that Luxembourg was not against EU enlargement.
“We are not against the enlargement. Luxembourg was never against the enlargement. I don’t want to be provocative, but some countries say we cannot enlarge because it will cost too much. I just want to remind the countries who argue that maybe would not be a member of the European Union if we had had the same reflection when they were candidates. We should not forget. Everybody should know his own history. When Hungary became a member, if Hungary was rich enough to be a member of the European Union, maybe Hungary would not be a member today.
It is also solidarity. It is to make potential out of partners and also democratic values. But I’m not on the market, you know, I said already a few years ago; we are not on the SOUK here to say, you give, I take. We don’t fix the price. It’s rules, and we have to stick to these rules. If there is a veto, I just would like to understand why there is a veto. It has to be a justified veto. And I’m still waiting for real reasons and not the other reasons,” he said.
