Copenhagen, 01/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - Although issues like sustainable development and the Middle East were discussed, the real substance of the meeting in Copenhagen on Monday between the European Commission and the new Danish Presidency was enlargement. After the meeting, Commission President Romano Prodi and Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, acting President of the European Council, said they agreed on the direction to be taken to manage to conclude the accession negotiations (respecting the timetable outlined at the Nice and Laeken Summits).
Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Danish Presidency's main priority was to conclude the accession negotiations in time for the Copenhagen Summit in December, preferably with all ten candidate countries, adding that he hoped there would be effective partnership with the Commission to achieve this objective since the Commission was an essential partner, preparing proposals and doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Commenting on the discussions that morning, the Danish prime minister said the Commission and Presidency agreed on the direction to be taken to conclude the negotiations in 2002, with Romano Prodi commenting that they had clear ideas about what has to be done together. On the "end of a specific epoch in history" that the creation of a twenty-five member European Union would bring in, the Commission President said that it would be necessary to change the way the institutions functioned, and this six month period would be dedicated to this task.
In answer to questions on the financial aspects of enlargement, and especially on direct aid to the farmers of future Member States (see EUROPE of 28 June, p.5), Mr Prodi said the Union "does not need new money". "The Commission has prepared a budget until 31 December 2006; there is no problem" he continued, insisting that "the compromise for direct aid is the only viable solution". Regarding resources, "we have limits that candidate countries have known since the beginning", the Commission president said, adding that "if the Fifteen were to make new funding available, I would be delighted, but I am realistic".
Mr Rasmussen, for his part, insisted on keeping to the timetable approved in Seville. He confirmed that a common negotiating position of the Fifteen on all financial aspects should be submitted to candidate countries early November at the latest. In answer to questions on the short amount of time between presentation of this common position and the Copenhagen Summit, Mr Prodi considers one month is enough in so far as it will not be a matter of consolidating technical aspects but of concluding. The Danish prime Minister specified that "it would not be a question of taking it or leaving it (and that) the few weeks between presentation of the common position and the Copenhagen summit will be devoted to intensive talks with the candidate countries". He recalled, moreover, the importance that the Presidency attaches to concluding negotiations in December, as even a slight delay could, he said, have the effect of putting off enlargement by several years.
When asked about the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Nice, Mr Prodi declared that he wouldn't be going to Ireland but he hoped that the "Irish would vote yes…and if they didn't we'd find ourselves in the great unknown". Mr Rasmussen confirmed that there was no Plan B in the event of the Treaty being rejected, explaining that, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it".
Romano Prodi also indicated interviews with Mr Rasmussen focused on the problematic of sustainable development within the perspective of the Johannesburg Summit. "The issue of sustainable development and relations with the third world is crucial", he declared, explaining that "Johannesburg will be very difficult from the point of view of new resources". He stressed that in this context, collaboration with Member States and the Commission will be very important and that the Presidency would play a key role in this regard.
On the issue of the Middle East, Romano Prodi considered that, "If we want free elections, we have to accept the result". With regard to Mr Rasmussen, he described that he shared the US President Bush's disappointment that, "Mr Arafat had not done all that he should have for preventing terrorism and suicide attacks". The President of the Commission added that they were, "going to negotiate with the leader elected by the Palestinians".