ANALYSIS: EU unveils new approach to eastward enlargement (10/31/99)

ANALYSIS

EU unveils new approach to eastward enlargement

by Breffni O'Rourke
RFE/RL Newsline

The European Union on October 13 announced a radically new approach to the process of enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe. At the core of the new strategy is the decision to recommend the start of negotiations next year with another six countries: Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Malta.

These countries, regarded as the group of less advanced candidates for membership, will therefore join the six so-called first-wave countries - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus - which have already opened negotiations with Brussels. In this way, the union will no longer distinguish between first-wave and other candidate countries.

Turkey is now also acknowledged as a formal candidate, but is not yet admitted to negotiations on the grounds that key criteria are not yet met.

In the new negotiations, each country will progress toward meeting membership requirements at its own individual pace, a principle called "differentiation."

The new accession strategy bears the stamp of the EU's first commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen of Germany. Mr. Verheugen says the strategy is aimed at balancing two potentially conflicting objectives: namely, speed of accession and quality of preparation. He says speed is essential because of the expectations of the candidates, while quality is vital because the EU does not want "partial members" but new members with full rights and responsibilities.

Mr. Verheugen also brought more clarity to the vexed question of when new members will be admitted. The report welcomes the fact that some applicants have already set their own target dates and says that the EU Commission will recommend that the EU summit in Helsinki in December commit the EU to be ready to decide from 2002 about the accession of candidates that fulfill the necessary criteria.

Among the individual countries that were not included in the first wave, the progress report names Slovakia as having made good progress during the year, both in terms of democratization and economic reform. However, it says that Slovakia does not yet have a fully functioning market mechanism and, in addition, needs to do more to implement policy decisions and legislation on administration and the judiciary.

The head of the EU integration section of Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Jan Kuderjavy, told RFE/RL that "this kind of relatively positive evaluation was badly needed [in Slovakia] and now I think everybody can see that the effort that was employed throughout the whole year, since our [reform] government was established last autumn, is bringing already its first fruits."

Lithuania, like Slovakia, is not yet regarded as having a full market economy, and in addition is seen as sluggish in adapting its legislation to fit EU norms. Fellow Baltic state Latvia needs to devote serious attention to general public administration and judicial reform, but has made good economic progress in the last year. Estonia, which is also doing well economically and is one of the first-wave countries, needs to ensure that its language legislation is implemented in such a way as to comply with international standards.

Turning to Bulgaria and Romania, the report finds that neither country met economic criteria. Bulgaria continues to make significant progress and shows sustained effort but started from a very low level. Romania has, at best, stabilized as compared with last year, the report argues. In the case of both countries, the EU Commission has set conditions before membership negotiations can begin.

For Bulgaria, those conditions stipulate that it must continue to make economic reform progress and must decide by the end of this year on an acceptable closure date for the risky nuclear reactors at Kozloduy. For Romania, the terms are that it, too, must make continued economic progress, and, in view of the large number of orphans in the country, it must implement reform of child-care institutions.

The deputy head of Romania's diplomatic mission in Brussels, Viorel Ardeleanu, told RFE/RL that his country will work hard to meet the conditions so that negotiations can begin. He praised the European Union's new approach, saying that "the main thing is that all six countries are invited to start negotiations in 2000. ... This is an extraordinary signal for the political class and, in general, for the whole society in Romania."

Turkey, with its long-strained relations with the EU, is a special case. The report recommends that Turkey be made a formal candidate, thereby giving it the prospect of eventual EU membership. But at the same time the EU has declined to open negotiations with Turkey and in this context points to failings of democratization in that country.

The commission urges Ankara to undertake specific steps. These include enhancing domestic political dialogue, with particular reference to improving human rights, revising the way it handles EU financial assistance, and developing a national program for adjusting its legislation to EU norms.

As for the west Balkans, the EU report recommends that EU leaders confirm the prospect of eventual membership for the former Yugoslav states and Albania. But it says that, in addition to meeting the usual criteria, those countries will have to recognize one another's borders, settle all issues relating to national minorities and pursue economic integration in a regional framework.

Looking further afield, the report notes that relations with Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus states and the Maghreb countries of North Africa are of strategic importance to the EU. They should go beyond trade and assistance programs and include issues such as the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking, and migration and environmental policies.

Breffni O'Rourke is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Prague.

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