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European Parliament, Strasbourg
14 December 1999
This weekend I will be travelling to Macau to represent the Commission
at the hand-over. As Honourable Members might imagine, there is a
certain sense of déjà vu for me in all of this.
Some might say that I am becoming something of an afficionado at hand-over ceremonies.
I have been referred to by some as the Last Governor.
But that has never been true.
Certainly my friend and former colleague Vasco Rocha Vieira has more claim to the title than I do.
In making this statement this morning, I want to place on record my admiration for all he has done in Macau in his long tenure as Governor.
His distinguished record as a public servant of skill and integrity is, I am sure, recognised in his own country as in Macau; and in this Parliament as it is in the Commission.
I am much looking forward to being able, this weekend, to salute that service as my gubernatorial colleague leaves his office.
Macau - like Hong Kong before it - will begin a new era on 19 December 1999 as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC.
It will be different - but in crucial respects life must and will stay the same.
That is what is meant by the concept of 'one country, two systems', under which Macau - like Hong Kong - will retain its freedoms and fundamental rights, and enjoy a high degree of autonomy as an SAR of the PRC.
Those rights and freedoms are set out in terms in the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, which both parties have solemnly pledged to uphold.
The European Union will continue to take a close interest in Macau after the 19th of December.
The Commission has recently published a Communication entitled 'The EU and Macau: Beyond 2000'.
The Council endorsed the Communication last week, and welcomed and reinforced the commitments it makes.
In particular, the Communication underlines the central importance we attach to the full implementation of the Joint Declaration.
It makes clear that - as in the case of Hong Kong - the Commission will take a close interest in this matter and, again as we do for Hong Kong, we will publish an annual report on Macau.
We will follow the implementation of international conventions of which Macau is a member, in particular the UN Conventions on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
We also intend to work to strengthen EU-Macau relations, notably by encouraging EU companies to continue to invest in the Territory.
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the EC and Macau - signed in 1992 - will remain in force.
The Commission welcomes the accreditation of a Macau Economic and Trade Office to the European Communities. It will help to maintain and reinforce our dialogue on trade, economic and co-operation issues.
I feel strongly, as Honourable Members will understand, about our continuing interest in Macau, our continuing obligation. We want to have as good a relationship with the future Chief Executive of the SAR as we have had with my friend, the present Governor. I would like to invite the Chief Executive to pay an early visit to Brussels, and it would also be good to welcome the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR here when he can manage it, or his internationally-renowned deputy.
What is happening in Macau next Sunday is an important moment in Portugal's history, in China's history, and in Europe's history. Portugal, like the country I know best, has done its best to discharge the responsibilities bequeathed by history honourably and well. We all have to take account of different circumstances, different challenges. Nothing is ever quite the same.
But I always felt when I was in Hong Kong, when I talked to my colleague across the Pearl River Delta, that I was working with someone who shared my values and who had a profound sense of duty.
We all run our course. Portugal has run her course in Macau and is fortunate that her honour during this passage has been in the hands of Governor Vieira.
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