Nice, 08/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The EU Heads of State and Government sent a strong political message on Friday to the candidate countries by adopting conclusions on enlargement that confirm and fully support the enlargement strategy as proposed by the European Commission (including the "road map", for the continuation and end of negotiations), and that go even beyond the ambitious conclusions adopted earlier this week by the General Affairs Council (see EUROPE of 5 December). Thus, they reaffirmed their will to complete accession negotiations by end-2002 with those countries so ready, which would, realistically, mean that an initial enlargement could be envisaged for 2004, following ratification of the accession treaties in 2003. "The European Council considers that this strategy (the Commission's strategy), together with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Conference on institutional reform, will enable the Union, in accordance with the goal set by the European Council of Helsinki, to be prepared to welcome those new Member States so ready as from end-2002". Following an Italian request (backed by Britain), the hope is expressed that the citizens of the first new member countries will be able to take part in the next European elections in 2004 (a demand oft expressed by the European Parliament).
Speaking to the press, Pierre Moscovici, French Minister of European Affairs, made a point of stipulating that the EU's ambition of concluding negotiations in 2002 and having the first new member countries participate in the European elections of 2004, should not be taken to mean or interpreted as being an EU "commitment". "We are offering a perspective, not committing ourselves". Negotiations will have to go on until such times as all difficulties have been resolved and accession will only be possible for candidates actually ready and who meet the accession criteria.
The Fifteen, for which enlargement is now a "political and historic priority", also agreed in Nice on Thursday to return to the state of negotiations and the enlargement process in general at the European Council of Gothenburg, in June 2001. On the basis of a progress report, the Heads of EU State and Government are considering providing, in Gothenburg, "the necessary guidelines to carry through this process", and Sweden even hopes to be able to offer the candidates an indicative date for the first accessions (see below for the statement by Ms. Lindh).
Regarding the Commission's "road map", that sets out the steps to follow over the next 18 months (proposing a precise order for substantive negotiations on chapters still open), the Heads of State and Government fully followed in Nice the path already sketched out on Monday last by the Foreign Ministers: the road map should "facilitate continuation of negotiations", but may only have an indicative nature and must be treated with the necessary flexibility. This flexibility must both enable the EU and candidate countries to move forward faster (if circumstances allow), and to continue talks beyond the scheduled timetable, if need be.
Regarding Turkey, the Fifteen welcomed the progress achieved in implementing the pre-accession strategy, as well as the agreement secured, last Monday by the General Affairs Council, on the framework-regulation and the Accession Partnership. Turkey is urged to submit its national programme for adopting the acquis as soon as possible and to base itself on the Accession Partnership.
As for the European Conference, the Summit considered that it represented a "useful framework" for promoting dialogue between Member States and "countries with the vocation of joining". They propose that the countries of the stabilisation and association process, i.e., the countries of South East Europe, as well as the EFTA countries (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) be invited as members-designate.
Swedish Presidency would like to bring forward stages of "road map"
Anna Lindh, Swedish Foreign Minister who will chair the EU Council for the first half of 2001, told the press that Sweden had the "firm intention" of pushing accession negotiations forward during its Presidency, and even going faster than the Commission proposed in its "road map". Ms. Lindh considered that talks on the most difficult chapters (agriculture, regional policy, etc.) should be broached before 2002 (according to the road map, these issues will only be broached in the first half of 2002), if only to prepare the ground. For that reason, Ms. Lindh does not rule out these chapters already being raised (in one way or another) early-2001.
"I am not saying we are going to conclude negotiations on these tricky issues, but we should begin to speak of them as soon as possible. I am against the idea of not speaking about them at all" before the date indicated on the road map, said Ms Lindh.
The Swedish Minister also felt that the solution of enlargement "as a block" (up to ten countries at the same time according to the "big bang scenario") was rejected by the Fifteen. "The refusal of the big bang scenario was general", she said, before recalling that Sweden greatly insists on the principle of differentiation which wants every candidate to be judged on the basis of its own merits and for each candidate country to join once it has fulfilled the criteria set.
Regarding the request from the most advanced candidates for an indicative timetable for the first accessions, Ms Lindh felt that a target date for the beginning of enlargement should not be given until the moment the end of negotiations is really in sight. "I hope that we shall be able to fix a date in Gothenburg (during the June 2001 summit), but this is not certain", she said. Nonetheless, the Swedish Presidency will at least seek to confirm a "clear and precise" working programme for finalisation of negotiations, concluded Ms Lindh.