30 EU enlargement: Bulgaria and Romania
| (26010)
13243/04
+ ADDS 1 and 2
COM(04) 657
| Commission Communication: Strategy Paper on progress in the enlargement process; and 2004 Regular Reports on Bulgaria's and Romania's progress towards accession
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| Legal base | — |
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 13 December 2004
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| Previous Committee Reports | HC 42-xxxiv (2003-04), para 12 (27 October 2004) and HC 42-xxxvii (2003-04), para 7 (17 November 2004)
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| To be discussed in Council | 17 December European Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
30.1 On 6 October, the Commission issued its annual reports on
enlargement and its enlargement strategy, including its Regular
Reports on Bulgarian and Romanian accession negotiations, which
continue to envisage full membership on 1 January 2007. The December
European Council is expected to decide on the conclusion of negotiations
with Romania and Bulgaria.
30.2 When we considered these reports on 27 October,
we noted that, despite the extensive progress required of both
candidates between now and 1 January 2007 to attain full readiness
for membership, the emphasis of the Minister for Europe (Mr Denis
MacShane) was on his strong support for the accession timetable,
which we felt called into question the extent to which the safeguard
clauses he mentioned were to be taken altogether seriously. We
accordingly kept the documents under scrutiny and asked:
- for the Minister's reassurance
on this point; and
- at an appropriate moment before the December
European Council, to be given a report on progress on the outstanding
issues, particularly as regards Romania, in whose case seven negotiating
chapters had still to be closed.
The Minister's letter of 7 November
30.3 In his response of 7 November on our first point,
the Minister for Europe maintained the Government's strong support
for Bulgaria and Romania's accession timetable, arguing that the
accession process had been a powerful lever for reform and that,
for this transformation process to continue, it was critical that
the momentum and pressure to reform afforded by the accession
timetable be maintained. He pointed out that closure of negotiations
is not the end of the story and that both countries still have
at least two years before accession; and agreed with us that Bulgaria
and Romania have much to do before full readiness for membership
is achieved. Commitments made during the negotiating process would
have to be implemented before accession could take place. The
new enhanced monitoring arrangements and the safeguard clause
(by which accession can be delayed if either country is not making
good on these commitments or is manifestly unprepared for membership)
would ensure that the pressure was maintained beyond closure of
negotiations and that candidate countries kept the reform momentum
going. He concluded by reassuring us that the safeguard was not
an empty threat, although the Government's preference is that
it should not need to be used.
30.4 We accepted his reassurance, but maintained
the document under scrutiny pending his response to our second
request, which is contained in his letter of 9 December 2004.
The Minister's letter of 13 December
30.5 The Minister says:
"Romania has now provisionally closed
all its negotiation chapters. The last two chapters, JHA [Justice
and Home Affairs] and Competition were closed this week. This
decision will be confirmed at a ministerial-level Accession Conference
on 14 December. Negotiations with both Romania and Bulgaria will
then be formally closed at the European Council on 17 December.
"In my last letter I highlighted the
progress both Romania and Bulgaria had made in implementing the
Copenhagen criteria and securing political and economic stability.
The Government welcomes the provisional closure of Romania's negotiations
and hopes that this will encourage Romania to focus on reform.
"The 'super safeguard' clause, under
which the accession of Romania or Bulgaria can be postponed for
up to one year if they are deemed to be manifestly unprepared,
will act as an additional lever for pushing through reform. The
Commission will carry out an enhanced monitoring programme as
part of which they will issue Comprehensive Monitoring Reports
in autumn 2005 and 2006. If it is deemed that Romania has not
reached the required standards, a decision will be made on implementing
the safeguard clause. Romania's JHA and Competition chapters (on
which it faces some particularly onerous implementation requirements)
were closed under the condition that a decision on postponement
would be taken by Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) rather than
unanimously. This is an important further tightening of conditionality
in Romania's case: the QMV trigger will considerably reinforce
the safeguard's role as a lever for reform.
"During negotiations the Commission
recognised the improvements Romania had made but also specified
the need for real progress by autumn next year. They have set
out a range of areas across the acquis where Romania needs to
take action. JHA, Competition and Environment will require particular
attention.
"Romania has made some significant steps
forward which have enabled the Commission, the Presidency and
EU Member States to provisionally close its accession negotiations.
I believe that this positive transformation can continue with
the momentum provided by the accession timetable, and with the
threat of implementing the safeguard clause."
Conclusion
30.6 We are grateful for the Minister's full account
of the process by which Romania's (and Bulgaria's) progress in
meeting its commitment will be monitored over the next two years.
As we said in response to his earlier letter, in accepting his
assurance that "the safeguard mechanism is not an empty threat",
we share the hope he then expressed, that it will not need to
be used. However, if the enlargement process is to be maintained
successfully, then the arrangements he has outlined must be meaningfully
implemented. We shall ourselves be visiting Bulgaria and Romania
in spring 2005, and we also look forward to the first of the Comprehensive
Monitoring Reports next Autumn.
30.7 In the meantime, we clear the document.
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