Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-04-Speech-2-057"
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"en.20010904.3.2-057"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, in the candidate countries, enlargement has become a strong incentive to take the measures needed to make the transition to a market economy. The implementation of these measures is still painful and has sometimes even been extremely painful. In several candidate countries, however, these changes have already led to rapid, balanced growth, making it possible to improve people’s standard of living. So, what stage have the negotiations reached? Since July, the Belgian Presidency has, as it pledged it would, been continuing the work begun by the Swedish Presidency, on the basis of the principles set out in Nice and according to the timetable agreed at the Gothenburg Summit. The Presidency is taking great pains to keep within the confines of its role of facilitator, to avoid taking over from the Commission and to allow the Commission and relevant Commissioners to conduct the negotiations. The Member States’ governments warmly welcomed the presentation of our work programme on enlargement at the General Affairs Council meeting in July. They all stressed the importance of carefully monitoring the implementation of the commitments made by the candidate countries, as did Mr Brok, when he expanded on the question that he submitted.
We would like to open up all the negotiating chapters. Malta still lacks the chapter on agriculture and Bulgaria still has eight chapters that must be examined. Furthermore, in accordance with the Gothenburg conclusions, the Belgian Presidency will support the efforts made and to be made by Romania, which still has 14 negotiating chapters to be opened. In the case of several candidate countries, we will soon have completed the critical mass of the chapter that is provisionally concluded.
By this, I mean that the number of chapters which have already been negotiated, and for which provisional agreements have been reached, is such that the question now becoming increasingly specific and, therefore, increasingly urgent concerns the differentiation in treatment of candidate countries, each according to its merits, as well as the question of knowing how the negotiations will end. This time could, in fact, come sooner than we were expecting.
The Belgian Presidency is striving to maintain the intensive pace of negotiations. At the first meeting of substitute members on 27 July 2001, seven chapters were examined, five of which were concluded. Seven have now been able to be concluded with all the candidate countries. These were the chapters on statistics, small and medium-sized enterprises, research, education, health and consumers, as well as foreign relations. Those chapters that are still to be negotiated – and this will come as no surprise – are some of the most difficult. In addition to chapters on the free movement of workers and the environment, we tackled issues involving justice and home affairs, competition, transport, energy, fisheries, agriculture and taxation. In some of these areas, considerable progress was made. Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, the enlargement process cannot, however, be reduced simply to the conclusion of negotiating points. Every country must comply with and continue to comply with the economic and political criteria of Copenhagen and must implement these effectively.
This applies in particular to a country with which we have not yet begun negotiations. I am, of course, referring to Turkey. During a visit by the Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister, Louis Michel, to Ankara in July, he reminded the Turkish authorities that they have every interest in focusing on implementing the accession partnership. This will enable Turkey to comply with the political criteria set out at Copenhagen. As for Cyprus, we are pleased with the progress that has been made in the accession negotiations.
However, the pace of negotiations does not depend on the efforts of the Commission, the Council or the Presidency alone. External events can sometimes influence them, or disrupt them. I am thinking, for example, of the beginning of the election campaign in Poland, or of the new Bulgarian government that has come into power. I am nonetheless counting on a positive outcome in both cases. Indeed, I believe that these changes will not slow down the pace of negotiations, which so far has been swift for both countries.
Another important event will take place in November, when the Commission publishes in-depth reports on the preparation of candidate countries. The information contained in these reports will allow the Presidency, at the Laeken European Council, to provide the following presidencies with clear indications as to what needs to be done.
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, how then do we manage the future? The conclusions of the European Councils in Nice and Gothenburg gave a boost to the enlargement process. The quality of this process is now just as important as the number of chapters being negotiated. On this point, I would like to say to Mr Brok that he is of course right, at least in my personal opinion, to urge us not to ask more of the candidate countries than we ask of ourselves. That is very true, but even so, the candidate countries have every interest in ensuring that the
is implemented in the optimal fashion, because otherwise there is a risk that the initial stage of their membership of the European Union will be very difficult and very painful. I believe that we must help them to avoid this sort of situation. Achieving the aims that we identified at Nice and Gothenburg will depend on two very important factors. First of all, the determination of EU Member States – of all of us, in other words – to translate the commitments that we have taken into action. Member States will have to adopt common positions within the deadlines specified in the road map, and will have to determine transitional periods if necessary, even if this may, and will, give rise to difficulties. The second factor is, as I pointed out, whether the candidate countries can provide, within a reasonable time, sufficient and substantial information on their ability to comply with the required criteria, and also on their ability to prove that this process has been set in motion."@en1
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