Nice, 07/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The "very positive" discussion in the summit that, Thursday morning, gathered 15 EU Heads of State and Government and 13 colleagues from the accession candidate countries and Switzerland, confirmed the EU readiness to welcome the first new Member States "as soon as they are technically ready, as of January 2003", asserted President Chirac following the European Conference. The European Council President welcomed the "new impetus" given over the last months to the accession negotiations and the desire to intensify these negotiations in the future, "while respecting the principal of differentiation", and underlined the EU Member States desire to "discuss in a regular manner" with the candidate countries institutional issues and "issues relating to the future of Europe". Furthermore, he noted the spirit of opening towards other countries that want to grow closer to the European Union ("I think in particular of the Balkans", he said ), while noting that "it is an additional step". The Europe of six was built on Franco-German reconciliation, recalled the President of the French Republic, the Europe grew "naturally", and this enlargement continued after the fall of the Berlin Wall. We will do "our utmost, in the spirit of the Commission proposal, which we approve of without reservations, to accelerate the works" and to promote, as foreseen in Helsinki, opening the door to those that are ready as of 1 January 2003, said Jacques Chirac, simply, to the press which wanted to know if the conclusions of the Nice Summit would indicate (as the Commission report from last October) that certain accession negotiations should be concluded during 2002.
We hope that the negotiations will be concluded "as quickly as possible", said the President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, when underlining that "we want to proceed in the most transparent, rapid and clear manner possible, this process of the reunification of Europe". We have invited the candidate countries to discuss with us the prospects for the European building process, while, in Nice, we should take the necessary decision to prepare "our house for becoming bigger, to become to sole house of Europe". The time for deciding upon institutional reforms required in part by enlargement, it is logical that the candidate countries come to this conference that was "historically wanted by France", asserted the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who was along side Jacques Chirac and Romano Prodi.
Support for extension of European Conference to other countries, notably Balkan countries
- A role in future institutional reforms?
The idea of extending the European Conference to other countries, and more specifically to the five countries from South Eastern Europe (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Federal Yugoslav Republic) with which the EU hopes to conclude Stabilisation and Association Agreements was raised during the debate. President Chirac saw that "the idea of an extension did not face any objections".
All the candidate countries insisted over the importance for the EU 15 to conclude here in Nice, with success, the IGC on institutional reforms, so as to enable the EU to concentrate on enlargement. A failure of the IGC would leave not only the EU without the necessary institutional basis to enlarge, but would moreover have a negative political and physiological impact in the candidate countries, felt most of the representatives from these countries. Furthermore, all the candidate countries insisted in Nice on the requirement of being associated in all EU reforms after that in Nice. In this context, the European Conference could play a significant role to consult and make participate the candidate countries in this process, it was underlined. Recently, on the sidelines of the meeting of Minister for Foreign Affairs of the European Conference in Sochaux, Commissioner Verheugen said he was favourable towards this idea to give the European Conference a central role in this effort to associate the candidates to the "post Nice" reforms".
First Turkish participation in summit of European Conference
The Turkish Prime Minister Mr Ecevit noted with satisfaction that, for the first time, a Turkish Head of Government would take part in the Summit on the European Conference (a conference, let us recall, which was created in December 1997 mainly to offer a "waiting room" to Turkey at the time of the opening of accession negotiations with the first group of candidate countries).
Swedish Presidency wants to speed-up negotiations in first half of 2001 - "Enlargement is
in the interest of United Kingdom", says Robin Cook
Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, who will chair the European Council for the first half of 2001, announced that his country was to try to speed-up accession negotiations, as demanded by the most advanced applicant countries (those of the Luxembourg group). "We are ready to speed-up the process, but the candidate countries must deliver".
When speaking to the press with his Hungarian and Estonian counterparts, Messrs. Martonyi and Ilves, as well as with the chief negotiator of the Czech Republic, Pavel Telicka, Robin Cook, British Foreign Minister, placed great emphasis on his country's "national interest" in seeing the Union enlarge more quickly. "We believe that enlargement is not only good for the candidate countries, but that it is also in Britain's national interest. As enlargement, means a larger and stronger Europe in the world, and a larger internal market" that will strengthen trade in Europe, said Cook, adding that the candidate countries had made great efforts in preparing for accession.
"Enlargement is very clearly in the interest of member countries like candidate countries", said Estonian Foreign minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
The same concept was expressed by Czech Prime Minister Zeman, and Jerzy Buzek, Polish Prime Minister, reiterated his country's determination to complete negotiations by the end of 2001, or sooner than scheduled on the "road map" included in the EU's new strategy (which provides for negotiations being over by end-2002).
In order to finalise the negotiations in 2001, Poland submitted to the EU 15 an accelerated timetable, foreseeing that more chapters than planned be dealt with over the next six months. "The announcement made today by the Swedish Prime Minister, saying that enlargement would be the top priority of the next Presidency, pleases me greatly", and leaves hope that an acceleration is possible, concluded the Polish Prime Minister.
Hungarian Prime Minister does not believe that enlargement depends
on results of institutional reform
Victor Orban, Hungarian Prime Minister, refused to grant too much exaggerated importance to the debate on dates. "We believe in work and not in diplomatic manoeuvres. We will do our utmost to fulfil the accession criteria", so as to be ready to join the EU on 1 January 2003, he asserted. At the same time hoping that the EU 15 succeed in the institutional reforms, the Head of the Hungarian Government dismissed the hypothesis that a failure in Nice would cast doubt over the historic chance for European reunification. In his opinion "the dream of the big bang (enlargement in a group, and not in relation to the state of readiness of each individual country) is dead (…) The individual performances of the candidate countries" will be the only criteria on which they will be judged". To this he added: "End 2002, Hungary will have finished it accession preparations"; nevertheless he called on the EU 15 to formulate common positions, where it is not yet the case, such as in the agricultural field. "Without which, it will be difficult to conclude these negotiations".
Mikulas Dzurinda, Prime Minister of Slovakia, stressed that his country (which, for political reasons, only began negotiations at the beginning of this year) firmly intends to catch up the most advanced countries, with the aim of joining the EU in 2004, together with its three neighbours of the Visegrad group: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic. Joint membership would be logical and reasonable and would make it possible to avoid a large number of technical and practical difficulties.
Mr Ogi states: "accession is the aim of the Swiss Government's European policy"
For his first appearance at a summit of European Union Heads of State and Government, the President of the Swiss Confederation, Adolf Ogi, appeared overjoyed (Switzerland is a member designate of the European Conference). "I have the impression that Switzerland would be welcome (in the Union). I feel at ease, relieved and pleased. Pleased that the Swiss message has got across", he told the press. "Switzerland has an impressive result to show (…) Its model has shown its worth: subsidiary has worked. Subsidiarity is the key word of the European Union", he explained.
For Switzerland, the invitation to go to Nice is an important step: "We tend to be forgotten, so it was in our interest to seize the opportunity provided by this occasion. The European Union enlargement process is of capital importance for the security, stability and also the prosperity of Europe. It is in our interest also as we too are on this continent and we are no better than the others. It is a question of guaranteeing peace for us also".