Brussels, 17/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Presidency of the EU is confidence that the next negotiating meeting with candidate countries (to be held on 30 September/1 October at foreign minister level) will provide the opportunity to conclude negotiations with the ten most advanced countries on virtually all of the so-called technical chapters (chapters without any major budget or financial implications). This would enable both sides to clear the negotiating table before getting their teeth at the beginning of November into the final phase of the negotiations on the more sensitive issues which will probably not be settled until the "final package", namely direct aid for farmers, production quotas, how much the new Member States will have to pay to the EU budget and the total amount of funding available for enlargement in 2004 to 2006.
Among the technical dossiers still on the negotiating table (which will be on the agenda of the 30 September/1 October meetings), is Competition Policy with Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Malta. The Commission has not yet sent the Council its draft common positions (DCPs), but diplomats suggest the documents will be sent in time to make it possible to conclude this chapter with all five countries, where possible at the end of the month at the upcoming ministerial meeting, and certainly before the Brussels Summit (24/25 October). The problems remaining to be settled focus around state aid schemes and tax incentives for foreign investment in candidate countries which are incompatible with EU competition rules. The restructuring of heavy industry (coal and steel) is also important for some countries, like Poland and the Czech Republic. Poland is expected to be in a position to conclude the structural and administrative sides of the Regional Policy at the upcoming ministerial meeting, but the budget side will not be dealt with until the end, once the overall financial framework for enlargement has been decided). With these two additional closures (Competition and Regional Policy) Poland will have closed 28 of the 31 chapters, matching the other leading countries (Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Cyprus). The Czech Republic will probably have to wait for the outcome of the German elections (22 September) before it can hope to reach agreement on road cabotage since Germany is demanding a transition period to delay the arrival of Czech hauliers on the German road cabotage market and has been blocking the closure of the Transport chapter with Prague for months. If things change favourably after the German elections, the issue might be on the agenda of the 30 September/1 October ministerial meeting, but diplomats are not ruling out the possibility of the issue only being resolved in the final package in December. It is already clear that disagreements between the EU and the Czech Republic and Hungary over the number of Czech and Hungarian Members of the European Parliament (which have prevented the Institutions chapter from being concluded with both countries) will not be discussed until the end of the negotiations, probably at the highest political level. Diplomats points out that Malta will probably be able to conclude the Environment and Customs Union chapters at the ministerial meeting at the end of the month.
As for Bulgaria and Romania, no chapters are expected to be concluded at this stage, but Romania is highly likely to open negotiations over the veterinary and phytosanitary aspects of the Agriculture chapter, probably opening all remaining unopened chapters by the end of the year. Bulgaria has already opened all chapters.