Bratislava, 22/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - Addressing a European conference in Bratislava last Friday, which brought together several Heads of central and eastern European governments, Commissioner Günter Verheugen laid down the next steps planned by the European Commission to implement its new neighbourhood policy ("Wider Europe") to neighbouring countries with no current prospects of joining the EU (see EUROPE of 12 march, p.10). By the summer, the Commission plans to present a strategy document to the Member States:
a strategy document which will develop the "vision" which inspires the new policy will raise basic questions;
national reports describing the political, economic, social and institutional situation of each of the countries in question; - the first national action plans for a first small group of countries. These bilateral action plans will be "tailor-made", and will include commitments in police and legal co-operation, liberalisation of trade and the continuation of economic reforms needed to make progress towards the establishment of market economies. Mr Verheugen stressed the consensual nature these action plans should have: "we cannot impose rules on our partners They must be convinced. This is why the action plans will contain nothing which has not been fully approved by both sides", said the Commissioner;
a "New Neighbourhood Instrument" (NNI), to facilitate cross-border co-operation between the EU and its neighbours. This cross-border co-operation already exists today, but comes up against many practical and legal obstacles, as it is based both on internal EU programmes and external ones (in the beneficiary countries). The future NNI will be a single instrument allowing work to be carried out more easily on both sides, explained Mr Verheugen. The Commissioner acknowledged that in the framework of the current financial perspectives, the budgetary margins are somewhat reduced to allow a really "ambitious" policy to neighbour countries to take off, together with an increase in financial aid. "This means that we will not be able to make decisive progress until after 2006, when the new financial perspectives are in application", said Mr Verheugen.