 I'm really grateful to Ireland for hosting this event because, well, it's never enough opportunities to speak about enlargement and about Western Balkans, and Dublin is well positioned to do so because, as it was said already, Ireland along with the UK and Denmark was the first enlargement ever in the history of the European Union, and second, back in 2004 it was the average presidency that hosted the largest enlargement scene so far, accepting 10 new member states including mine. And with all these discussions we have and we continue to have about the Western Balkans, it's visible how big a disproportion there is between the knowledge about the region we've accumulated and the real understanding of what's going on there. And therefore, let's talk about it. We all agree that offering a real European Union membership perspective for the Balkans was the key message from Thessaloniki, and the main vision which was manifested there was that the future of the Balkans is within the European Union, and it holds several important aims. First, to reward the countries of the region for the progress achieved at home. Second, to commit them to intensify the pace of reforms. And third, to encourage them to follow the pace of the countries of Central Europe. Enlargement is the most successful EU policy, and the magic is that the European Union does not transform anybody, but it let the countries transform themselves. Enlargement is the most effective tool the European Union has because this is where we see the magic soft power of the European Union working. And enlargement also is a win-win story for the new member states as well as for the old ones. We remember the fears and prejudices that were accompanying the wave of enlargement back in 2004, and they have proven unfounded. There was no paralysis of the EU decision-making mechanism. The labor market was not destroyed because of the Polish plumbers and the welfare system did not collapse. And at the same time enlargement helped the European Union to transform and strengthen itself in terms of institutions and policies and also in terms of the European Union's global stance. So even if the European Union is facing several problems and serious problems nowadays, it's important that we avoid mixing up the problems which are stemming from the crisis and the impact of enlargement, because the problems we are having in the European Union are not the problems created by the enlargement. I come from Slovakia. We are going to celebrate 10 years as members of the European Union, and we still remember very well how it was and what did it feel to be on the other side of the fence. And we have done many things and we have accomplished many difficult tasks, and it was only possible because we had the European membership perspective. And we also understand how important it is to keep this perspective alive for the countries of the Western Balkans, not only alive but also viable and tangible. We sometimes tend to get absorbed by our own internal problems in the European Union, which is a mistake. We must not forget that there is life outside of the European Union. There are people and there are countries who are looking at us, who want to be like us and who want to follow our example, and this is what we must continue providing for these people and for these countries, leading by example. And particularly now, today, when we are all facing the impacts of the economic financial crisis, and we must not forget that the countries of the Western Balkans are hit by the crisis even more than the countries of the European Union, and we must not forget that there is an unfinished business in the Western Balkans. Because right now I see two vicious circles that are taking place simultaneously in the region of the Western Balkans. Seen from the EU perspective, there is a crisis in the European Union, therefore there is less attention to the region of the Western Balkans, therefore there is less investment coming from the EU to the Western Balkans. Therefore, as a consequence, we see the worsening of the economic situations and then as a logical consequence, there is less enthusiasm for reforms in the Balkans, less progress on the EU agenda, then less enthusiasm on the EU side to support the Balkans, and finally, the less tangible perspective for the Balkans to integrate. And from the Western Balkans perspective, if there is lack of belief in real EU perspective, then of course there is lack of real reforms and then there is lack of real progress. So we shall break these vicious circles. Of course, the European Union cannot enforce transition, we can only encourage it, we can offer credible perspective, we can provide support and we can and shall lead by example. There is no magical cure from outside, there is no martial plan for the Western Balkans, but the key role is the Western Balkan country's own performance. First, reforms, political, economic, legal, social, fulfilment of the EU commitments. There is no substitution to this. And second, regional cooperation and regional ownership. There are so many processes that cannot be driven from outside, but they really have to be owned by the countries from the region and by the region itself. Crucial words here, conditionality and flexibility. Conditionality is of utmost importance and we shall strictly stick to the own merits principle. Don't make any packages, don't link the process to any personalities, to any dates, assess the progress achieved on the ground by each particular country. Stick to our own rules and principles. EU accession criteria are strict and rigorous, but they are definitely a fair test of how seriously the countries intend to integrate with the European Union and how well they are prepared. And again, we shall not forget that the enlargement should be a win-win game. It's not a charity. It's not a humanitarian assistance. It's not an assistance given from the EU to the future members. It should make the European Union itself stronger. Therefore, we have to insist on a rigorous fulfilment of all the criteria. But at the same time, some flexibility is also needed. We must not be nailed by our principles. We must not become victims or hostages of our policies. We must be able to react to the development on the ground and we must be able to encourage the positive developments to help the process speeding up. We shall not forget that by granting the country a candidate status or by offering a date for accession negotiations, we as a matter of fact increase our leverage over the processes of the country. Sometimes we don't use this instrument and I don't understand why. Despite all the problems we are facing and despite all the talks about the enlargement fatigue, enlargement is very much alive and kicking and there are success stories happening in the region of the western Balkans. Croatia, of course, is the best example. For me, what's behind the success of Croatia? First, focus on the future, so the ability, which is not typical or not systematic in the western Balkans, to look into the future rather than into the past. And second, to put the integration into the European Union at the first place in deeds and not only in words, because judging by the words, I mean, it's number one priority for every country in the region. But when we judge them by what they actually do, then we see a difference. And Croatia was able to prove that what they mean, what they say. Montenegro is obviously not the positive case. There are technical challenges, but not challenges of philosophical nature, what they say. And of course, Belgrade-Bristina dialogue has been a huge success and particularly the new Serbian government has delivered more than we all expected. And this is a very good and very positive news. And we on the EU side should be able to reward them and to react adequately to this. All this would not be possible without a clear EU perspective. So we shall not underestimate the attractiveness of the European integration and the soft power of the European Union. Obviously, there are cases and reasons for frustration. Bosnia and Herzegovina with the strong support by the population, but no delivery by the political leaders. Macedonia stuck not only with the name issue, but also the relations with neighbors and some internal political developments in Albania because of its deep internal political divisions and also unacceptable rhetoric by the prime minister, which has nothing to do with European spirit. So these countries will keep us busy in years to come. So 10 years after Thessaloniki, we have one country just about to enter, another one successfully negotiating chapter by chapter, two countries waiting for the date. The question is, is it more than we expected? Is it less than we expected? Is it just enough? So these are the questions we should ask, but what shall I say in conclusion? First, the further EU enlargement is an opportunity for the aspirant countries as well as for the European Union. It is not part of current European problems, it's part of the solution. The latest enlargement made the European Union stronger and the integration project stronger, so we have to make sure that the next enlargement will also make the European project stronger. It is in our interest not to let the countries of the western Balkans sit and wait in the waiting room for too long, but we also have to find the proper balance between conditionality and reasonable flexibility. However, first comes the political commitment in the western Balkan countries, responsibility and solidarity. Responsibility means you are responsible with your own people. You do your own work, you honor your commitments and then you can ask for European solidarity and you will get it, but not without the responsibility and not without fair honoring of your commitments. And let's not forget that having good neighbor relations, having stable democratic institutions, having functioning market economy and having sound legal system is not something you do to please Brussels. It's not something where you respond to the Brussels bothering, but it's something which is in the own interest of every single country of the region because you are not bringing your country closer to the European Union, you are actually bringing European Union closer to your countries, you are building European standards in your countries. This is the dynamics as it should be seen and understood. So my answer to the question in our panel, where do we go from here, is quite clear. Europe will not be united and our enlargement job will not be completed without having the whole Balkans fully on our board and our ambition cannot be any lower. Thank you very much.