Quotes
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“Investing in people is key objective to our neighbourhood policy. The fruitful cooperation between EU and European Neighbourhood higher education institutions will be continued, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas.”
19-07-2010 - Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“Cooperation is a win-win for the EU and our partners. It makes the European Higher Education Area more visible and attractive in the world, while also helping European Neighbourhood countries to modernise their universities and improve teaching skills.”
19-07-2010 - Androulla Vassiliou, the Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth
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“Environment, water treatment or drinking water, big infrastructure installations for ports and airports, but also the construction of hospitals and schools are among the priorities of the NIF.”
21-06-2010 - Richard Weber, Deputy Director-General of EuropeAid
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“Between the countries of the region, the media can help in combating prejudice and intolerance. Between the neighbourhood region and the EU, the media can help in increasing knowledge and fighting misconceptions and false expectations. In both cases, the gains for the region and for the EU are immeasurable.”
03-05-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“I am convinced that the involvement of regional and local authorities in the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" will constitute an enrichment and a decisive ingredient for success”
21-01-2010 - European Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy Paweł Samecki
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"Our belief is that the Union for the Mediterranean must not fall into the trap of Barcelona, restricting itself to traditional diplomatic relations. We therefore offer our commitment at grassroots level, geared to implementing practical projects through the contributions of the regional and local authorities that strive on a daily basis to improve quality of life for our fellow citizens.”
21-01-2010 - Luc Van den Brande, president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR)
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“For five years, the European Union has been delivering more trade, more aid, more people-to-people contacts and far deeper co-operation between the EU and its neighbours on the whole range of their economic, political and sectoral reforms.”
12-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“It is very important that the three countries of the Maghreb have strongly confirmed their common will… to create an electricity market in the Maghreb with a view to integration into the European market.This is a very positive signal for our energy cooperation with these countries which has every chance of becoming the basis for a strategic partnership”
20-06-2010 - Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger
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“The ENP is a win-win game: the higher our partners’ reform ambitions, the stronger our response. Economic reforms have progressed remarkably across our neighbourhood, both East and South. What is essential for the future is to go up a gear on democratic and political reforms, where progress has been real but generally slower.”
12-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“More than just a challenge, energy is a driver of economic growth for all Mediterranean countries, a breeding ground for innovative projects and jobs. It will undoubtedly be the keystone of a long-lasting partnership for the Euro-Mediterranean Region.”
07-05-2010 - European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive
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“Energy demand is projected to rise significantly, while fossil fuel prices will most likely continue to follow an unstable and most likely rising trend. To address these challenges, the countries of the EU and the other member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean need to intensify their efforts to develop adequate policies in the field of energy efficiency and energy savings, renewable energies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”
10-02-2010 - Mediterranean Solar Plan strategy paper
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“The Commission strongly supports the objectives of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, through capacity building projects such as 'Paving the Way for the Mediterranean Solar Plan', but also through its financial support to FEMIP (the European Investment Bank’s Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership) and the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF)”
07-05-2010 - Marcus Cornaro, Director responsible for Europe, Southern Mediterranean, Middle East and Neighbourhood Policy at the European Commission (EuropeAid)
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“Environmental problems don’t know borders. It is in our common interest to work together with our partner countries so that our neighbourhood becomes greener”
23-03-2010 - Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility for the EU and the partners, and joint efforts are needed to successfully address concerns.”
12-05-2010 - ENP progress report – 2009
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“It is clear that the demands are high from our partners in the South Caucasus. But so are also the EU’s requirements on these partner countries to make sure that their legislation is in place and their administrative capacities strong enough to turn political ambitions into actual delivery of results.”
28-04-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“Like the European Union, the Union for the Mediterranean is a process to enable the Mediterranean to cope with its past comprising not only the most remarkable historic and cultural achievements, but also, tainted with war and confrontation. The Union for the Mediterranean is a major political initiative to cope with the need to build a shared future for Euro-Mediterranean partners.”
04-03-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“The European Union wants to work with its Mediterranean partners as real partners, to deal with common problems that no individual country can tackle successfully on its own. The European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean complement each other in the promotion of an emerging region close to Europe.”
04-03-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“If we want to make the neighbourhood policy a success, we must give ourselves the means to do so: greater mobility of people, more trade, more aid. This all comes at a price. However, I believe it would cost us even more to deal with the consequences of poor economic performance, instability and conflicts in our own neighbourhood.”
02-03-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“We want to engage further in cooperation with our neighbours proving that EU remains a solid and reliable partner in current hard times. We offer stronger links of political association and economic integration, adapted to our partners’ wishes and capacities. Increased EU funding is an important tool to achieve these goals.”
02-03-2010 - Catherine Ashton High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
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“Of course we do not live and work in a political vacuum… What is essential is that concrete work [under the UfM] continues… In short: Euro-Mediterranean co-operation goes on… When we turn back towards our work in a few years’ time and we look at this period, it will be clear what has made the difference: projects.”
27-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“For five years, the European Union has been delivering more trade, more aid, more people-to-people contacts and far deeper co-operation between the EU and its neighbours on the whole range of their economic, political and sectoral reforms.”
12-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“The ‘advanced status’ reinforces the partnership by setting out new ambitions for closer political relations, the gradual adoption by Morocco of the Community acquis, the integration of its economy to the internal market, deeper sectoral cooperation as well as enhanced consideration of the human dimension of our relationship.”
06-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“If we look back to these almost forty years of co-operation and what we have achieved, I think we have good reasons to be proud of ourselves. We have built up over the years a robust partnership, I should even say a friendship that is built on mutual trust, frankness and our willingness to discuss all issues, however difficult and sensitive.”
06-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“The conclusion of a visa facilitation agreement is a concrete step forward in EU-Georgia relations. It is EU's message of openness to the Georgian citizens. The visa facilitation and readmission agreements are very tangible result of the Eastern partnership and will promote interaction between citizens of the EU and Georgia and strengthen our cooperation in the fight against irregular immigration."
17-06-2010 - Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Home Affairs
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“Tunisia is an important and reliable partner… an economic pioneer among the European Union Neighbours. We agreed to set up an ad hoc group to work on a roadmap which would lead us to the advanced status. That advanced status will be focussing towards more intense political dialogue, legislative approximation, a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement.”
11-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“The links between Tunisia and the EU are strong. I am convinced that we can further develop our bilateral relations, helped in by a number of positive factors, and in particular the stability enjoyed by the region. I intend to give a new impulse to our relations by working on the basis of the reciprocal trust and understanding that we enjoy in view of a constructive and ambitious dialogue looking towards the future.”
29-03-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“Syria’s relations with EU Member States have gained momentum since 2008. A general consensus in favour of EU engagement with Syria emerged in 2009, recognising Syria’s key role in a number of critical issues in the region.”
01-03-2010 - ENPI Syria National Indicative Programme 2011-2013
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“In 2005, when the EU took the initiative of establishing the European Neighbourhood Policy, Morocco was among the first to realise that we were offering a considerably strengthened partnership, offering 'more for more' on a constant basis — and developing our co-operation as far as our partners are ready to take it.”
06-05-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“I am convinced the ambitious agenda we agreed [for the Eastern Partnership] in Prague remains the right one: by seeking the political association and economic integration of our six partner countries with the EU, we will strengthen the capacity of our partner countries to make their own sovereign choices about the political and economic challenges that confront them.”
24-05-2010 - European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
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“Ukraine faces many political and economic challenges… Decisive action on reform is urgently needed if Ukraine is to achieve the stability and prosperity its citizens hope for. A long-term solution can only be derived from a sound business and investment climate, generating growth, jobs and stable public revenue. This, in turn, requires a stable, democratic political environment.”
20-04-2010 - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
