Brussels, 17/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission could disappoint the candidate countries when it presents, on 30 January, its proposals for a common position on the general framework of enlargement financing. The document is expected to cover the chapters on agriculture, structural policies and the budget. In the present state of work, EUROPE has reason to believe that the spending initially planned for 2002, 2003 and 2004 under Heading 8 (Enlargement) of the Financial Perspectives could be transferred to the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, except with regard agricultural market expenditure. However, as Heading 8 was initially provided for six candidate countries until 2006 and this could now be ten, the transfer of funds could be accompanied by a 20% increase in payment appropriations.
According to Community sources, Commissioner Franz Fischler is in favour of a ten-year transition period before the candidate countries are able to fully benefit from direct aid. The first year, in 2004, farmers in the Eastern countries will benefit from 20 to 25% of the amount perceived by their counterparts in the Fifteen according to the proposal which, Commission officials are sure, will be that of the executive. Direct aid being intended to compensate for a fall in prices suffered by the farmers of the Fifteen during the reform of the CAP of 1992 and 1999, it is logical that eastern countries, in which the interventions prices are often below those of the EU, should not be fully compensated. Mr. Fischler said last week that took great a direct aid would stunt structures in countries like Poland, where the government itself considers that less than a million farms (of the 2.5 million that currently exist) are viable. The Commissioner thus prefers to place emphasis on aid to rural development that will allow for this restructuring.
Concerning regional aid, the candidate countries will benefit from 9.4 billion euro a year, or 126 euro for each of their 74 million inhabitants, against 14 billion for the EU's current poorest countries, or 241 euro for Spain, Portugal and Greece. For the Commission, account also needs taking of the absorption capacity of the new arrivals, which still do not have the necessary engineering to carry out projects. You may recall that, in Berlin, European leaders had stipulated that Community funds could not exceed 4% of GDP of the Member States, a figure never attained by any of the EU countries.
This strategy should enable to finance enlargement without problems until the end of the current "financial perspectives", which expire end-2006, and that especially as greater sums were provided for in Berlin in March 1999.