Brussels, 19/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - Accession negotiations continued Friday afternoon, at deputy level, with three of the twelve candidate countries:
- Hungary: two chapters were on the agenda: budget, institutions. According to Endre Juhasz, Hungary's Chief Negotiator, there is now agreement on all aspects of the "institutions" chapter, except for the number of seats Hungary will have in the EP. Budapest is demanding 22 seats instead of the 20 allocated to it by the Nice Treaty, or the same number as other member countries (Belgium, Greece, Portugal) with a similar population to its own. "It's a question of principle", said Mr. Juhasz. Regarding the budget chapter, great differences remain on Hungary's future contribution to the Community budget. In all, Hungary has closed 24 chapters.
- Cyprus closed three chapters (regional policy, tax, institutions), placing the country at the head of the leading group of candidates with 27 of the 31 chapters closed.
- Romania closed two chapters: social policy and institutions. The European commission's Director General for Enlargement, Eneko Landaburu, announced very precise monitoring to see whether Romania will respect to the letter commitments it has made concerning the adoption of new legislation. Romania has now closed 11 chapters.
The other nine candidate countries will have their negotiating sessions on Monday. EUROPE will return to that.