Ban Munder, 06/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - By speaking before a conference on the "role of trade union organisations in the EU enlargement process" (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.15), the European Commissioner responsible for negotiations with candidate countries, Gunter Verheugen, announced that the workers trade unions must be better and more involved in this process. It is through the trade unions that it is possible to make workers understand the true aims and the meaning of the operation and disprove the cynics. There exists initially divergent views between the EU countries close to the candidates (which tend to want to protect themselves) and the candidate countries that want to rapidly benefit from the Union's Structural Funds. It is not the right approach. The real problems are elsewhere, and Mr Verheugen cited the rule of law, the protection of minorities (notably the Roma), the fight against the prostitution of women and children and against organised crime, legal insecurity which discourages investors, etc. In his opinion, in terms of the free movement of employees the interests coincide: a strong migration would create problems in the EU labour markets and at the same time provoke a shortage of labour in the candidate countries. The trade unions can contribute to resolving all these problems.