16 EU Enlargement
(a)
(28018)
14968/06
COM(06) 649
(b)
(28022)
15122/06
COM(06) 672
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Commission Communication: Enlargement Strategy and the main challenges 2006-07
Commission Communication: Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA): Multi-annual indicative financial framework for 2008-10
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Legal base | |
Documents originated | 8 November 2006
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Deposited in Parliament | 16 November 2006
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Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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Basis of consideration | EM of 21 November 2006
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Previous Committee Report | None; but see (27865): HC 34-xxxviii (2005-06), para 3 (18 October 2006) and (28023-29): HC 41-i (2006-07), para 17 (22 November 2006)
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To be discussed in Council | 11-12 December 2006 General Affairs and External Relations Council and 14-15 2006 December European Council
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Committee's assessment | Politically important
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Committee's decision | Cleared; relevant to the debate on enlargement to be held in the European Standing Committee on 15 January 2007
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Background
16.1 In the introduction to its annual Enlargement Strategy Paper
(document (a)), the Commission says enlargement has been at the
heart of the EU's development over several decades: "The
very essence of European integration is to overcome the division
of Europe and to contribute to the peaceful unification of the
continent". Politically, enlargement has consolidated democracy,
human rights and stability across the continent, and "reflects
the EU's essence as a soft power, which has achieved more through
its gravitational pull than it could have achieved by other means".
16.2 Economically, enlargement has helped to increase
prosperity and competitiveness, respond better to the challenges
of globalisation and increase the EU's weight in the world. The
accession of Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007 will complete
the fifth enlargement, following the accession of ten Member States
in May 2004. "Rigorous preparations" having paved the
way, the ten new Member States "have reached an excellent
level of compliance" with EU law, made a significant contribution
to the work of the EU institutions, generated increased levels
of economic activity, trade and investment, and produced high
rates of economic growth.
The Commission Communications
16.3 Building on the EU's existing strategy, the
first Commission Communication "outlines an approach to draw
lessons from the fifth enlargement, to support countries on their
way to membership, to foster public support for further enlargement,
to address the enlargement challenges, and to ensure the EU's
integration capacity [as] the basis for building a renewed consensus
on enlargement". In line with the conclusions of the June
European Council, it includes sections on public support, absorption
capacity and institutional reform, with an annex that "sets
out an approach designed to ensure that the EU retains its capacity
to function effectively while pursuing an enlargement agenda which
is designed to meet the challenges of the years ahead".
16.4 It covers the countries of the Western Balkans
and Turkey. Croatia and Turkey are negotiating their accession.
Macedonia became a candidate country in December 2005. The other
Western Balkan countries have not yet submitted membership applications,
but are "making progress towards fulfilling their European
perspective". The main challenges for 2006/07 are:
- Turkey's accession negotiations;
- Kosovo's future status;
- relations with Serbia; and
- Bosnia and Herzegovina's assumption of greater
ownership of its governance.
BULGARIA AND ROMANIA
16.5 Despite both having introduced far-reaching
reforms in the course of the accession negotiations, the Commission's
monitoring reports of October 2005, May 2006 and September 2006
highlighted areas of particular concern where further efforts
were needed.[34] The
September report set out strict conditions to ensure continued
progress in the reform process before and after accession, and
drew attention to the provisions in the acquis and in the
Accession Treaty to ensure that EU policies and institutions will
continue to function effectively: the Commission "will not
hesitate to use these mechanisms at any time, if the need arises".
16.6 Although their accession demonstrates to countries
at an earlier stage in their preparations for membership that
their ultimate goal is achievable, it also provides a number of
lessons especially that judicial reform and the fight
against corruption and organised crime need to be tackled at an
early stage and the need for an accountable and efficient civil
service, based on professional career development criteria, to
prepare efficiently for accession and subsequently operate as
a Member State, which is beneficial to the country as a whole.
ENLARGEMENT PROCESS
16.7 The Strategy Paper states that the Union's enlargement
policy continues to be based on three key principles:
- consolidation of commitments,
which means that the EU honours its existing commitments but is
cautious about assuming any new commitments;
- conditionality, which
must be applied rigorously but fairly to all candidate and potential
candidate countries; and
- communication, which
refers to the importance of communicating the enlargement process
effectively and in particular its benefits for EU citizens. Member
States must take the lead in communication. The democratically
elected governments of Member States take every key decision leading
to a country's accession, and national Parliaments ratify the
decision to accept new members.
16.8 The Paper describes the changes that have already
been made to the enlargement process since the fifth enlargement,
including strengthening conditionality through the introduction
of benchmarks for opening and closing each negotiating chapter.
It also stresses the importance of the political criteria in the
process and recommends that increased attention should be paid
to political reforms. These reforms are addressed as part of the
political dialogue as well as in the chapter on Judiciary and
Fundamental Rights. There will also be greater Member State involvement
in the preparation of the Commission's political dialogue with
the candidate countries. Regarding the economic criteria, the
results of the economic dialogue will henceforth be fed into the
negotiation process, and pre-accession assistance will be targeted
more precisely to help ensure that candidates are functioning
market economies by the time of accession.
PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE
16.9 From 2007, all pre-accession assistance will
be co-ordinated under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance
(IPA), which will replace previous assistance instruments such
as PHARE, CARDS, ISPA and SAPARD. Candidate countries and potential
candidate countries are eligible for funding under the new instrument.
The Western Balkan countries and Turkey will benefit from almost
11.5 billion over the next seven years. The EU adopted the
IPA Regulation in July.[35]
The Commission is now finalising the detailed regulation for implementation.
16.10 The Multi-Annual Indicative Financial Framework
(document (b)) provides a breakdown of assistance by country and
by component for 2007-2010. It confirms the 2007 figures included
in the Commission's 2007 Preliminary Draft Budget. Under the Financial
Framework, no country receives less in 2007 than it received in
2006. Per capita allocations for the Western Balkans will reach
at least the 2004-06 average of 23. As Candidate Countries,
Macedonia and Croatia will receive at least 30 per capita
by 2008. Turkey's per-capita allocation is lower, as a result
of its large size and its limited capacity to absorb funds. However,
its allocation will gradually increase over 2007-13. A table with
the breakdown by country and component is at Annex 1 of this Report.
WESTERN BALKANS STRATEGY
16.11 The Strategy Paper reports on the progress
that has been made in implementing the road-map for the Western
Balkans.[36] The March
2006 meeting in Salzburg between EU and Western Balkans foreign
ministers reiterated the perspective of EU membership for the
Western Balkans and called for the countries of the Western Balkans
to take stronger ownership of the process of regional co-operation.
In this context, the Commission welcomes the establishment of
the South East Europe Co-operation Process and the launch of negotiations
for a regional free trade agreement. The EU will continue to promote
more people-to-people contact through the provision of more scholarships
to residents of the region while simplifying visa arrangements
for travel.
ENSURING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR ENLARGEMENT
16.12 The Strategy Paper states that the benefits
of enlargement need to be better communicated to the public. Member
States must take the lead, with the support of the Commission
and European Parliament. The Commission will support increased
transparency by recommending that screening reports, benchmarks
and final EU common positions be made public, and retain its emphasis
on civil society dialogue and personal contact with the citizens
of prospective members. The report also highlights the need to
monitor public opinion on enlargement and to communicate more
clearly with members of the public, for example by explaining
the process in everyday language on targeted web-sites.
16.13 The paper ends with 13 Conclusions and Recommendations,
which are at Annex 2.
INTEGRATION CAPACITY
16.14 The Commission says that, following the request
of the June 2006 European Council, the annex to the Strategy paper
focuses on medium to long term issues concerning the EU's capacity
to integrate new members and "puts forward an approach for
ensuring that Union can maintain and deepen its own development,
in terms of policies and institutions, while pursuing an enlargement
agenda with major challenges in the world today". It notes
that in 1993 the Copenhagen European Council concluded that "the
Union's capacity to absorb new members, while maintaining the
momentum of European integration, is an important consideration
in the general interest of both the Union and the candidate countries"
and that, as set out in the Commission's 2005 Strategy Paper and
confirmed by the June 2006 European Council, "the pace of
enlargement must take into consideration the EU's integration
capacity". The approach presented in the paper is based on:
- "ensuring the EU's capacity
to maintain the momentum of European integration;
- ensuring candidate countries fulfil the rigorous
conditions; and
- better communication".
16.15 The Report refers to absorption capacity as
"integration capacity", which is "about whether
the EU can take in new members at a given moment or in a given
period, without jeopardising the political and policy objectives
established by the Treaties". The Report argues that integration
capacity is determined by two factors the transformation
of applicants into worthy member states; and the development of
the EU's policies and institutions and that the capacity
of the Union to maintain the momentum of integration has three
main components: institutions, EU policies and the EU budget.
16.16 It notes that "widening the EU has proceeded
in parallel with the deepening of European integration".
The EU honours existing commitments but is cautious about assuming
any new ones. Future "group" accessions are unlikely;
individual accessions are likely only in the medium to long term.
As to the question of the ultimate borders of the European Union,
the Commission concludes "the term 'European' combines geographical,
historical and cultural elements which all contribute to European
identity" and that "the shared experience of ideas,
values, and historical interaction cannot be condensed into a
simple timeless formula and is subject to review by each succeeding
generation". For now, the Union "needs to ensure that
its institutions continue to act effectively, that its policies
meet their goals, and that its budget is commensurate with its
objectives and with its financial resources".
16.17 The Commission argues that "the EU needs
new institutional arrangements simply for the sake of enlargement;
it also needs them so that the current Union can function better".
Noting that the Treaty of Nice provides only for a Europe of 27,
the Annex says that the allocation of seats in the European Parliament
and the weighting of votes in the Council "are clearly central
to the EU's capacity to take decisions" and that "a
new institutional settlement should have been reached by the time
the next new member is likely to be ready to join the Union".
16.18 The Commission observes that previous enlargements
have strengthened EU policies in numerous areas, and argues that
as it enlarges, the Union needs to be in a position to continue
developing and implementing policies in all areas. To this end,
the Commission will examine the impact of future enlargements
at key stages of the process. It will in particular consider the
impact on agriculture and cohesion policies when assessing the
budgetary impact of enlargement. An assessment of the impact of
enlargement on EU policies will also be included in all future
Commission opinions on membership applications. Finally, in the
course of accession negotiations, the Commission will provide
substantial assessments of the impact of accession on key policy
areas. This will inform the EU common positions in the chapters
concerned, including, where relevant, transition periods or other
arrangements.
16.19 For the budgetary component, the Commission
notes that the EU must be able to continue financing its policies
in a sustainable manner. An assessment of the impact of enlargement
on the EU budget will therefore be included in all future Commission
opinions on membership applications. Furthermore, the Commission
will propose, in any future accession negotiations, a package
of necessary financial measures.
The Government's view
16.20 In his 21 November 2006 Explanatory Memorandum,
the Minister for Europe (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) says that the Government
welcomes the Commission's emphasis on the importance of honouring
existing commitments towards the Western Balkans and Turkey and
continues as follows:
"Enlargement has been one of the EU's most successful
policies and it is important the process continues. The Government
welcomes the focus on continued rigour by the Commission in monitoring
preparations by the countries concerned and the confirmation that
each country will be judged solely on its individual merits. We
welcome the Commission's proposals in the area of ensuring public
support for enlargement but agree with its assessment that member
states must take the lead in this.
"We agree that the EU must consider its integration
capacity. This has been the agreed position of the EU since the
Copenhagen Council of 1993. The effect of enlargement on the EU's
institutions, budget and common policies has been considered in
advance of previous enlargements. It is in the interest of existing
Member States and candidates that the EU is properly prepared
for future accessions. However, we do not want any assessment
of integration capacity to create a new barrier for candidates.
Their progress through the enlargement process should continue
to be based on their success in meeting the Copenhagen criteria".
16.21 The Government also welcomes the introduction
of the IPA from 2007 and supports the Commission's proposed Multi-Annual
Indicative Financial Framework:
"We are pleased that the Commission is looking
at the objective resource allocation criteria laid out in the
IPA Regulation when establishing the Financial Framework, including
needs assessment, absorption capacity, respect of conditionalities
and capacity of management".
Conclusion
16.22 Although the documents contain no surprises,
and cover considerable ground that has been covered in individual
monitoring reports, they are nonetheless valuable in pulling together
the challenges to further enlargement. They clearly identify the
road ahead for the actual and potential candidates, and how the
Commission plans to manage the accession process henceforth, with
lessons from the process so far being relevant to both parties.
That the road ahead for Member States is less clearly signposted
signifies the intensely political nature of the questions raised.
16.23 The process of EU enlargement is to be debated
in the European Standing Committee on 15 January 2007, on the
basis of the last monitoring reports for Bulgaria and Romania.
Since then we have considered similar reports on the Western Balkan
aspirants, which we considered relevant to that debate. We consider
these documents which we now clear likewise relevant.
Annex
1: Conclusions and Recommendations
Based on the above analysis, the Commission proposes
the following conclusions:
1. The EU's enlargement policy continues to be
based on the three principles of consolidation, conditionality,
and communication. The EU honours the commitments made to the
countries already in the process, but is cautious in assuming
any new commitments. The pace of the accession process depends
on the pace of reforms in the candidate country.
2. The current enlargement strategy, combined
with ways and means to ensure the EU's capacity to integrate new
members, forms the basis for a renewed consensus on enlargement.
3. The EU's capacity to integrate new members
is determined by two factors:
4. maintaining the momentum to reinforce and
deepen European integration by ensuring the EU's capacity to function.
This is in the interest of both present and future EU citizens;
5. ensuring that candidate countries are ready
to take on the obligations of membership when they join by fulfilling
the rigorous conditions set. This is assessed by the Commission
on the basis of strict conditionality.
6. The EU's integration capacity will be reviewed
at all key stages of the accession process. In its opinions on
applications for membership and in the course of accession negotiations,
the Commission will provide impact assessments of accession on
key policy areas. This will help Member States to define EU common
positions for the negotiations of the chapters concerned, including,
where relevant, transition periods or other arrangements.
7. When assessing the budgetary impact of future
accessions, the Commission will examine the impact on key policies,
in particular agriculture and cohesion policies.
8. The EU must ensure that it can maintain and
deepen its own development while pursuing its enlargement agenda.
Institutional reform is needed to improve the effectiveness of
the decision-making of an enlarged EU. A new institutional settlement
should have been reached by the time the next new member is likely
to be ready to join the Union.
9. The Commission will further improve the quality
of the accession process. Benchmarks can be laid down both for
opening and closing negotiation chapters, and will provide grounds
for suspending or re-opening negotiations on individual chapters.
The results of political and economic dialogues will be fed into
the negotiation process. Difficult issues, such as judicial reform
and the fight against corruption, need to be addressed at an early
stage of the accession process.
10. In order to enhance transparency the Commission
recommends that key negotiation documents be made public, including
impact assessments, screening reports, benchmarks for opening
chapters and EU common positions for the negotiations.
11. It is essential to ensure public support
for enlargement. Maintaining rigour in the process and strict
conditionality is essential to safeguard this support. So is confidence
about the EU's integration capacity. We also need to communicate
enlargement better. It is important to listen to citizens, address
their concerns through adequate policies and present factual information.
Member States have a lead role to play. The Commission will play
its part together with the European Parliament, national, regional
and local authorities, and civil society.
12. Croatia has made a good start in the accession
negotiations. The country has taken important steps following
the screening exercise in many fields to adapt its legislation,
and is in the process of developing the necessary administrative
capacity. Croatia however needs to considerably step up efforts
to meet main challenges such as judicial reform, the fight against
corruption, economic reform and to continue to fully cooperate
with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.
Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation remain key.
13. Turkey continues to sufficiently fulfil the
Copenhagen political criteria and has continued political reforms.
However the pace has slowed during the past year. Significant
further efforts are needed in particular on freedom of expression.
Further improvements are also needed on the rights of non-Muslim
religious communities, women's rights, trade union rights and
on civilian control of the military. Turkey can be regarded as
a functioning market economy and has improved its ability to take
on the obligations of membership. Good neighbourly relations remain
key.
14. As stated in the declaration by the European
Community and its Member States of 21 September 2005, the EU expects
Turkey to ensure full, non-discriminatory implementation of the
Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement and the removal of
all obstacles to the free movement of goods, including restrictions
on means of transport. Failure to implement its obligations in
full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations. The
Commission will make relevant recommendations ahead of the December
European Council, if Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations.
It is also essential that, as stated in the Accession Partnership,
Turkey takes concrete steps for the normalisation of bilateral
relations with all EU Member States as soon as possible.
15. The designation of the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia as a candidate country in December 2005 gave recognition
to this country's reform achievements. The country has continued
to make progress although at a slower pace in 2006. All Western
Balkans countries have made progress following the road-map put
forward by the Commission last year. Each country advances on
its own merits. A country's satisfactory track-record in implementing
its obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreements
(including trade-related provisions) is an essential element for
the EU to consider any membership application.
Annex
2: Multi-Annual Indicative Financial Framework: Breakdown of the
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance Envelope for 2008-2010
into allocations by country and component
Country
| Component
| 2007 |
2008 | 2009
| 2010 |
Turkey
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 252.2 | 250.2
| 233.2 | 211.3
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 6.6 | 8.8
| 9.4 | 9.6
|
| Regional Development
| 167.5 | 173.8
| 182.7 | 238.1
|
| Human Resources Development
| 50.2 | 52.9
| 55.6 | 63.4
|
| Rural Development
| 20.7 | 53.0
| 85.5 | 131.3
|
| Total
| 497.2 | 538.7
| 566.4 | 653.7
|
Croatia
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 47.6 | 45.4
| 45.6 | 39.6
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 9.7 | 14.7
| 15.9 | 16.2
|
| Regional Development
| 44.6 | 47.6
| 49.7 | 56.8
|
| Human Resources Development
| 11.1 | 12.7
| 14.2 | 15.7
|
| Rural Development
| 25.5 | 25.6
| 25.8 | 26.0
|
| Total
| 138.5 | 146.0
| 151.2 | 154.2
|
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 41.6 | 39.9
| 38.1 | 36.3
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 4.2 | 5.3
| 5.6 | 5.7
|
| Regional Development
| 7.4 | 12.3
| 20.8 | 29.4
|
| Human Resources Development
| 3.2 | 6.0
| 7.1 | 8.4
|
| Rural Development
| 2.1 | 6.7
| 10.2 | 12.5
|
| Total
| 58.5 | 70.2
| 81.8 | 92.3
|
Serbia
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 178.5 | 179.4
| 182.6 | 186.2
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 8.2 | 11.5
| 12.2 | 12.5
|
| Total
| 186.7 | 190.9
| 194.8 | 198.7
|
Montenegro
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 27.5 | 28.1
| 28.6 | 29.2
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 3.9 | 4.5
| 4.7 | 4.8
|
| Total
| 31.4 | 32.6
| 33.3 | 34.0
|
Kosovo
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 60.7 | 62.0
| 63.3 | 64.5
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 2.6 | 2.7
| 2.8 | 2.8
|
| Total
| 63.3 | 64.7
| 66.1 | 67.3
|
Bosnia & Herzegovina
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 58.1 | 69.9
| 83.9 | 100.7
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 4.0 | 4.9
| 5.2 | 5.3
|
| Total
| 62.1 | 74.8
| 89.1 | 106.0
|
Albania
| Transition Assistance and Institution Building
| 54.3 | 61.1
| 70.9 | 82.7
|
| Cross-border Co-operation
| 6.7 | 9.6
| 10.3 | 10.5
|
| Total
| 61.0 | 70.7
| 81.2 | 93.2
|
Total Country Programmes
| 1098.7 | 1188.6
| 1263.9 | 1399.4
|
Regional and Horizontal Programmes
| 100.7 | 140.7
| 160.0 | 157.7
|
Administrative Costs
| 55.8 | 54.0
| 56.5 | 64.6
|
GRAND TOTAL
| 1255.2 | 1383.3
| 1480.4 | 1621.7
|
Figures are shown
in million euros; current prices
34 See headnote. Back
35
Which we cleared on 12 July 2006: (27653) -; see HC 34-xxxv (2005-06)
para 11 (12 July 2006). Back
36
See (28023-29): HC 41-i (2006-07), para 17 (22 November 2006) Back
|