APPENDIX 1
Memorandum from the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office
You will recall that I sent you in July the
second in a series of six-monthly reports on progress in the EU
enlargement negotiations. I am glad that the Committee continues
to find these useful. I now attach the third report, reflecting
progress in the second half of 2001, under the Belgium Presidency.
Despite a number of difficult issues allocated
for negotiations under the Belgian Presidency, I am pleased to
report that the EU kept to the "road map", or timetable,
for negotiations agreed at Nice. The Commission confirmed in its
November Strategy Paper that the EU remains on track to complete
negotiations with those candidates that are ready by the end of
2002 so that they may join the EU before the European Parliament
elections in 2004. At Laeken, the EU confirmed its determination
to keep this timetable.
2002 should therefore be the last year of negotiations
with the first wave of candidates. But these negotiations will
not be easy. We still have to agree EU positions on the most difficult
issues of all—the budget-related chapters of Agriculture,
Regional Policy and Financial and Budgetary Provisions. The UK
will continue to work closely with the Commission, Presidency
and EU partners to help keep negotiations on track for a successful
conclusion at Copenhagen in December.
I am writing in similar terms to Jimmy Hood
MP, Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee and Lord Brabazon
of Tara, Chairman of the Lords European Union Committee. I am
copying this letter to the Clerk of your Committee.
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP
Minister for Europe
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
January 2002
EU ENLARGEMENT
1. This is the third in a series of six-monthly
progress reports on enlargement. It covers:
— Progress in the negotiations under
the Belgian Presidency
— A forward look at the issues facing
the Spanish Presidency
— An update on the UK's activities
in support of the enlargement process.
PROGRESS IN
THE NEGOTIATIONS
2. The "road map" for negotiations
endorsed by the Nice European Council allocated nine chapters
to the Belgian Presidency; Competition Policy; Transport Policy;
Energy; Taxation; Customs Union; Agriculture (phytosanitary and
veterinary questions); Fisheries; Justice and home affairs; and
Financial Control. The road map requires that the EU agree a common
position on all highlighted chapters, with a view, where possible,
to closing them provisionally with the candidates.
3. A number of chapters allocated to the
Belgian Presidency posed particular challenges in the negotiations,
notably Taxation (cigarette excise duty); Transport (domestic
road haulage); Competition Policy (state aids); Energy (nuclear
safety); JHA (a set of acquis which has developed fast since the
last enlargement). However, the EU was able to agree a position
on all these issues during the Belgian Presidency and to negotiate
that position with at least 2 candidates.
Taxation (cigarette excise duty)
— The EU position allows candidates
until 31 December 2006 to reach the current EU minimum rate of
excise duty on tobacco. As for impending acquis, which will introduce
a new cash minimum on excise duty, the EU position allows that
candidates should have up to the maximum period allowed to any
current Member State to meet the new standard, ie until the end
of 2007. During the transition period, current Member States will
be able to restrict the quantity of tobacco products imported
from these new Member States, in order to prevent smuggling.
— Both the Czech Republic and Slovenia
have accepted this position and provisionally closed the Taxation
chapter. Hungary did not request any transition and has also closed
the chapter.
Transport (cabotage)
— Cabotage is a domestic road haulage
journey performed by a foreign registered vehicle, eg a Czech
haulier doing a journey between Bremen and Berlin. The EU position
imposes a transition period on cabotage by all Central European
candidates except Slovenia (where road haulage costs equate with
the EU average). The transition periods take the form of 3+2 years
(3 obligatory + 2 optional) on candidates who have requested a
transition period; or 2+2+1 years (2 obligatory + 2 optional +1
additional in the event of a serious market disurbance) on those
who have not. Any restrictions imposed on the candidates will
be reciprocal against Member State hauliers.
— Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania have
accepted this position and closed the chapter, as has Slovenia.
Cyprus and Malta have also closed the chapter.
Competition Policy (state aids)
— Negotiations are concluded on this
chapter only when the Commission verifies that companies and public
authorities have become accustomed to operating in an environment
such as that of the EU. This requires that the necessary legislative
framework is in place; the necessary administration capacity has
been established; and the country concerned can show a credible
enforcement record of the competition acquis.
— Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and
Latvia have now provisionally closed this chapter.
Energy (nuclear safety)
— The EU's Atomic Questions Group (AQG)
established the Working Party on Nuclear Safety (WPNS) in the
Context of Enlargement to define the EU position on the "high
level of nuclear safety" required of the candidate countries.
The WPNS includes experts from all Member States. Its June report
gave recommendations on steps required of candidate countries
to upgrade nuclear power plants so they meet safety standards
prevailing in the EU. Candidates must agree to implement these
recommendations before the Energy chapter can be closed. Implementation
of safety standards will be monitored by peer review. Where candidate
countries have non-upgradable nuclear power plants, they must
agree satisfactory dates for their closure as a condition of closing
this chapter.
— All candidates except Estonia, Lithuania,
Bulgaria and Romania have now provisionally closed the Energy
chapter.
JHA
— Candidate countries are required
to demonstrate the commitment and capacity to implement effectively
the JHA acquis by accession. Membership of Schengen, however,
will be a two-stage process. By accession, candidates will be
required to meet EU minimum standards for border controls and
introduce preparations for Schengen membership. These will then
be monitored during a second phase until it is judged that the
new Member State can take on full Schengen membership and internal
border controls can be lifted. Given the need for confidence in
the effective implementation of all areas of the JHA acquis, the
EU will reinforce the existing monitoring process paying particular
attention to each candidate's administrative and judicial capacity
to implement and enforce effectively the acquis.
— Hungary, Cyprus, the Czech Republic
and Slovenia have provisionally closed this chapter.
4. At the close of the Belgian Presidency:
— The 10 candidates with target accession
dates of 2004 or earlier had all opened 29 of the 31 chapters;
Bulgaria (target date end 2006) had opened 27 and Romania (target
date 2007) 17.
— All 10 front-running candidates had
closed at least 20 chapters; Slovenia had closed 26; Cyprus, Hungary
and the Czech Republic 24; Latvia and Lithuania 23; Slovakia 22;
Poland, Estonia and Malta 20; Bulgaria 14 and Romania 9. (A full
table on the status of the negotiations is at Annex 1[7]).
5. The Commission issued its annual Enlargement
Strategy Paper and progress reports on each of the candidates
on 13 November. Explanatory Memorandum Reference 14117/01 dated
17 December 2001 summarises these documents and their implications
for UK policy. The Strategy Paper confirms that:
— provided candidates sustain their
efforts, it should be possible to conclude negotiations by 2002
with those who are ready so they can join the EU before the June
European Parliament elections in 2004;
— the Commission's 2002 Regular Reports,
due in the autumn, will include a recommendation on which candidate
countries are ready for accession;
— it will be possible to finance an
enlargement of up to 10 without breaking the financing ceilings
agreed at Berlin in 1999. The negotiations should take place on
the basis of the existing acquis "and the principles inherent
in the Berlin agreement" [ie the Financial Perspective and
conclusions agreed at the Berlin European Council in March 1999];
— implementation and enforcement of
the acquis will be particularly important for the remainder of
the accession process and the Commission will enhance its monitoring
of implementation through increased use of peer review involving
EU Member States;
— the Commission plans an "updated
road map" for those countries that do not form part of the
first wave of accession.
Laeken European Council
6. Solid progress under the Belgian Presidency
enabled the Laeken European Council to:
— confirm that the enlargement process
is irreversible and that the financial framework established at
the Berlin European Council makes enlargement possible;
— state its determination to complete
negotiations with those candidates who are ready by the end of
2002 so that they can take part in the 2004 European Parlilament
elections as Member States;
— agree with the Commission view that,
if both the negotiations and the candidates' reforms continue
at their present pace, any or all of the 10 candidate countries
with a target accession date of 2004 or earlier could be ready
to join in 2004;
— set the objective of opening negotiations
on all chapters of the acquis with Bulgaria and Romania in 2002
and call for a tailored timetable and road map for these countries.
7. The Laeken European Council also called
on the candidate countries to bring their administrative and judicial
capabilities up to the required level and noted that the Commission
will report to the Seville European Council in June 2002 on implementation
of an Action Plan to strengthen institutions in the candidate
countries.
Cyprus
8. The Commission's annual strategy and
progress reports for 2001 again confirmed that Cyprus already
meets the Copenhagen political and economic criteria regarding
eligibility for EU accession. The Commission also stated that
the EU acquis and accession process should not hinder a political
settlement on Cyprus. The EU's objective is accession by a united
island, but in line with the conclusions of the Helsinki European
Council entry is not conditional upon achieving a settlement.
The EU has welcomed the restart of the UN-brokered settlement
talks.
Turkey
9. The Laeken conclusions underlined that
Turkey's bid for EU membership will be assessed against the same
criteria as other candidate countries'. This year, the EU will
continue to handle its relations with Turkey in the framework
of the Accession Partnership (AP), which was agreed in March 2001
and has had a real effect in encouraging Turkey to implement legislative
changes aimed at bringing their laws progressively in line with
the acquis. EU-Turkey relations are particularly important in
the context of Cyprus. The European Commission's report of November
2001 on Turkey's progress towards EU accession called on Turkey
to support the work of achieving a political settlement on Cyprus.
The UK's role in promoting enlargement
10. The UK has maintained its role as a
champion of enlargement in the negotiations, in contacts with
other Member States and candidate countries, and in activities
to raise awareness of the benefits of enlargement within the UK
and beyond. We worked closely with the Belgian Presidency in support
of its efforts to identify solutions and move the negotiations
forward. The Foreign Secretary hosted a seminar in November 2001
for UK parliamentarians on EU enlargement. The Minister for Europe
addressed Welsh business representatives on enlargement in Cardiff
on 26 October and promoted EU enlargement during a visit to Edinburgh
on 5 November. And the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is co-operating
with a number of the English regions in their efforts to spread
awareness of enlargement, including the opportunities it presents
for UK business. A new EU enlargement brochure plus quarterly
updates on developments in the negotiations have also been published
in the last six months and distributed to the press, universities,
NGOs, libraries and parliamentarians (copies attached at Annex
2[8]).
11. In mid-November 2001, the British Embassy
in Madrid, together with the British Council and Spanish Government
held a highly successful conference entitled "Bigger Europe,
Greater Diversity: the strategic challenges for an enlarged EU".
A planned joint UK-Dutch conference in The Hague on strategies
for selling enlargement will now take place in March 2002.
12. The UK has maintained its place as one
of the most active participants in the EU's Twinning Programme
(the secondment of civil servants to Departments and Ministries
in candidate countries to assist with public administration reform
and preparation for enlargement). We had 23 successful bids for
twinning projects in the 2001 round. This was the second highest
number of projects won by any Member State, behind only Germany,
and represents the highest bidding success rate of all the leading
players, including Germany. The UK is currently involved in a
total of around 80 Twinning Projects across 11 candidate countries.
We will be bidding for further projects in the 2002 round, including
for `Twinning Light' projects: a new form of short-term technical
assistance involving consultancy visits rather than resident advisers.
13. The UK's bilateral Action Plans continue
to be a successful and popular means of helping applicants prepare
for EU accession. On 18 October 2001, we launched the UK/Lithuania
Action Plan—the eleventh Plan to be launched. And in September
2001, we launched the second phase of the UK/Hungary Action
Plan. This builds on areas covered in the first phase, including
tackling organised crime, agriculture, financial supervision and
media ethics, as well as the new topics of legal training and
e-government.
Next Steps: the Spanish Presidency
14. The Spanish Presidency has made clear
its commitment to reach an agreed EU position on those chapters
allocated to its Presidency under the "road map": Agriculture
(budgetary aspects); Regional Policy, Financial and Budgetary
Provisions; Institutions and `Other' (which as yet remains empty).
The Commission is due to table a paper setting out the framework
for negotiating the budget-related chapters in late January, including
proposals for applying CAP and the Structural Funds to the candidates,
on the basis of the existing acquis and the principles laid down
at Berlin in 1999.
15. The Spanish Presidency will also have
to address those chapters not yet agreed with all the candidates.
Most chapters have now been closed with at least 8 of the 10 candidates
aiming to end negotiations this year. The exceptions are JHA,
Competition Policy, Taxation and Transport where between 4 and
7 of these candidates have yet to complete negotiations.
16. The Spanish Presidency plans to invite
the candidate countries to part of the Barcelona European Council
in March 2002 for discussions on the EU's economic reform agenda.
They will also attend part of the Seville European Council in
June 2002. The Commission will report to Seville on the candidates'
progress in strengthening their administrative and judicial institutions.
The Spanish work programme on enlargement is attached at Annex
3[9].
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
January 2002
7 See p Ev 57.Commission's Enlargement Strategy
Paper and Annual Reports Back
8
Not printed. Updated information is available on the enlargement
pages of the FCO's website: www.europe.gov.uk/enlargement. Back
9
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