Ebba Busch Thors tal vid EPP i Zagreb

Anförande inför EPP:s kongress i Zagreb onsdagen den 20 november 2019.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Colleagues and friends,

EU integration is a long and demanding process.

And it should be.
In fact: it must be.

Because a close partnership with the EU is not a given right –
it is a privilege. A privilege that one has to earn.

Our European partners in the East have made great progress in this regard.

This with the regrettable exception of Belarus. A parliament without any representation from the opposition, indeed indicates room for improvement.

At the same time, other Eastern partners have to start showing that they are serious about fighting corruption, organised crime and trafficking.

Yet, that does not mean that we should shut the door to further EU integration. Doing so would come at a high cost.  

Across the Western Balkans, frustration with delayed candidacy and accession processes has indeed opened the door for Russian expansion. 

In our Eastern Neighbourhood, such expansion comes in the shape of military aggression.

Let us be frank: Vast areas of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are still occupied by Russia. Russia’s meddling in Nagorno-Karabakh brings no sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Crimea belongs to Ukraine. 

These are facts that Putin will never acknowledge.

For that very simple reason we cannot turn our backs on our European friends in the East.

Rather the opposite: we must bring them closer.

Thank you.