Brussels, 23/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The general state of the enlargement process as well as the prospects for an intensification and acceleration of the accession negotiations over the coming weeks and months will be at the heart of the three Association Councils that the EU will have on Tuesday 27 February in Brussels: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. These will be the first ministerial meetings (at Foreign Affairs Ministers level) between the EU and the candidate countries after the Nice European Council, which, by approving the new enlargement strategy proposed by the Commission, gave a new political impetus to the negotiation process.
On Tuesday the EU 15 will have to remind the three Baltic countries of their desire to progress in the negotiations according to the Commission timetable and the roadmap, in order to complete the negotiations with the most advanced candidates in 2002. Thus, the first new members could take part in the next European elections in 2004.
Estonia, which is among the best prepared candidates (it already began its negotiations in March 1998), will, on Tuesday, hear the EU 15 congratulate it for the "good progress" recently made in terms of legislative alignments and the adoption of the Community acquis, indicated diplomats on Friday. The Association Council should also take note, with satisfaction, of the efforts made by Estonia with regards to the establishment and development of the administrative institutions and structures required to ensure a correct application of the acquis after accession. Latvia and Lithuania (which are both members of the "Helsinki group" that only began accession negotiations in the spring of 2000) can also expect positive remarks from the EU 15. The Association Council with these two countries also underlines the progress made in terms of the adoption of the acquis, even if these two countries continue to have serious problems to ensure a complete and correct implementation of the Community legislation.
Pre-Accession assistance from the EU in favour of the candidate from Central and Eastern Europe (in the form of PHARE, ISPA and SAPARD) will constitute another issue for discussion, all the more so that the practical implementation of these aids (notably ISPA and SAPARD) continue to present technical and administrative problems. The Association Council will also review the state of completion, by the three Baltic countries, of the short and medium-term priorities contained in the Accession Partnerships. Finally, the Ministers will discuss the functioning of the Europe Agreements, and certain specific problems (for example, bilateral trade), will be raised in this context.