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Belgian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Belçika Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı The Euro-Preparing for Notes ad Coins Why enlargement? The future of Europe and the enlargement of the EU are inextricably linked: enlargement is the immediate future of Europe. Pursuant to the objectives set out in Helsinki, the European Council of Nice took all the necessary steps to ensure that the Union will be in a position to welcome new Member States. We could have easily rejected the compromise reached in Nice. We opted not to do that so as not to send out the wrong message that of an indecisive and reticent Europe at the wrong time, in other words on the eve of the reunification of a greater Europe. The enlargement of the European Union corresponds to the magnanimous and open vision of the original European project. This decision, rightly deemed irrevocable at the European Council in Göteborg, reflects the interest that the founders of Europe attached to the concept of international solidarity. Today's Member States remain just as committed to this aim. Enlarging the Union is also a historical duty. Our peoples, who have been separated by history for much too long, must have a chance to be reunited. In addition to the genuine historical challenge, enlargement is also a political design. This project brings us European leaders face to face with our responsibilities. We must henceforth make every effort to ensure a stable, secure and prosperous future for our fellow citizens in Europe. Enlargement was and still is required in order to prevent destabilization in the candidate countries. The unfortunate events in the Balkans in the last 10 years have shown that that region could not have been stabilised if the enlargement process had not been accelerated. In some of the countries of the former Yugoslavia, destabilisation has led to a deterioration in the rule of law and to the creation of new hotbeds of international crime. In those areas, the Union will have to strive hard to more efficiently combat transnational criminal networks. In its efforts to stabilise the region, the Union introduced an association and stability process at the Zagreb Conference. The positive results of enlargement are already tangible. In central and eastern Europe stable governments have been established which have adopted common values such as democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and the protection of minorities. The remarkable improvement in the security of Europe and the new prospects for economic development were the direct result of this. Enlargement makes Europe more prosperous and enhances its influence. In addition, the amount of foreign direct investment in the candidate countries of central and eastern Europe is constantly increasing. The European Union has become the largest trading partner of the thirteen candidate countries. As a result, the Member States reap many benefits. The enlarged Europe will consist of 500 million consumers. This will allow the Union to better assert and defend its specific character in an increasingly globalised world. For the candidate countries, enlargement has proven a strong incentive to take the measures needed to make the transition to a market economy. The implementation of these measures sometimes proved extremely painful. But in many cases, they led to rapid, balanced growth making it possible to boost people's standard of living. The European Union also has a lot to gain from enlargement. This view is nothing new. Efforts to bring in the candidate countries started well before the accession negotiations. The first association agreements with Turkey date back to 1963. In 1990 the European Union started taking special measures to promote trade with those countries that were furthest advanced in the transition: Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It attributed them favoured nation status and removed all quantitative restrictions for imports from these countries. Subsequently, between 1991 and 1993 the Union signed various association agreements with them. These agreements made possible the total liberalisation of trade in industrial goods, and did so asymmetrically: the markets of the Union were opened up more quickly than the markets of the candidate countries. The result of these efforts is tangible. Despite major differences between candidate countries, trade with the EU has risen so that it now accounts for more than 60% of candidate countries' trade. How far advanced are negotiations? As it pledged it would, the Belgian Presidency has, since July, been pursuing the work begun by the Swedish Presidency on the basis of the principles set out in Nice and according to the timetable agreed at the Göteborg Summit. The Presidency will take great pains not to step beyond its role as a facilitator and will leave the negotiations up to the Commission. The presentation of our work programme at the General Affairs Council was welcomed by the Member States. They all emphasised the importance of actually supervising the implementation of the commitments made by the candidate countries during the accession negotiations. With regard to other issues that still need to be examined, we would like to achieve complete openness for Malta. In accordance with the Göteborg conclusions, the Belgian Presidency will support Romania's efforts, a country with which there are still 14 unresolved negotiating chapters. Soon, the most important chapters will have been completed for a number of countries. In the short term, we will then have to deal with the issue of differentiation and how to deal with the final phase of negotiations. The Belgian Presidency is striving to maintain the intensive pace of negotiations. At the first meeting at the level of Deputies on 27 July 2001, some seven chapters were examined and concluded with all the candidate countries. These were the chapters on statistics, small and medium-sized businesses, research, education, health, consumers and foreign relations. The chapters remaining to be negotiated are not easy. In addition to chapters on the free movement of workers and the environment, we tackled issues involving justice and home affairs, competition, transport, energy, fisheries, agriculture and taxation. Considerable progress was made in some areas. However, the enlargement process cannot be reduced simply to the conclusion of negotiating points. Every country must comply with and actually implement the economic and political criteria of Copenhagen. This applies in particular to Turkey, a country with which Europe has not yet begun negotiations. During Foreign Minister Louis Michel's visit to Ankara in July, he reminded the Turkish authorities that they have every interest in implementing the accession partnership. That would put Turkey in a position to comply with the Copenhagen criteria. Where Cyprus is concerned, we are pleased with the progress made in the accession negotiations. The pace of negotiations will depend not only on the efforts made by the Commission, the Council and the Presidency. It will also be influenced by external events, including the start of the election period in Poland and the new programme presented by the Bulgarian government. I am totally confident that these events will be a success. The Commission's publication, beginning in November, of regular reports on the preparations of the candidate countries is also important. The content of these reports will allow the Presidency, at the European Council in Laeken, to give following Presidencies clear indications on how to pursue the work being done. At the end of the day, how do we manage the future? The conclusions of the European Summits in Nice and Göteborg breathed new life into the enlargement process. The quality of the process is now just as important as the number of chapters being negotiated. Actually achieving the goals set out in Nice and Göteborg will depend on two important factors: - factor one: the determination of the EU Member States to actually translate their commitments into deeds. The Member States must decide on a common position within the deadlines set out in the 'road map' and must, in this case, determine the transitional periods even though this will give rise to certain difficulties owing to their national interests. - factor two: the ability of the candidate countries to, if necessary, give sufficient, substantial information about their ability to comply with the required criteria. The failure of the Irish referendum has led to all manner of speculation on the feasibility of enlargement. Failure to ratify the Treaty of Nice would only affect the representation of the candidate countries within the reformed institutions of the Union. The representation would then have to negotiate on a case-by-case basis during the accession negotiations. Even if enlargement is legally feasible, failure to ratify the Treaty of Nice would send the wrong political signal to the candidate countries at a time when a segment of public opinion in those countries is questioning the merits of this process, which is perceived as a restriction on their recently regained sovereignty. In view of the magnitude and institutional repercussions of enlargement, I advocate the Union adopting a realistic, responsible and ambitious stance. To be realistic, enlargement should only be pursued if the Copenhagen criteria have been met. These criteria set out the minimum number of conditions without which accession by the new Member States would jeopardize the efficient operation of the Union. Enlargement of the Union must also be responsible. This means that the vital functions and common political principles of the Union must be guaranteed. With enlargement, certain key common policies, in particular the Common Agricultural Policy and the Structural Funds policy, will have to be reviewed. The Member States must therefore show a great deal of courage and determination. Enlargement requires that we adopt an ambitious attitude in terms of devising new common policies in certain areas. The introduction of a genuine common policy on fighting crime, and harmonizing asylum and immigration policy is needed now more than ever. In addition, the Union's efforts in terms of the common foreign and security policy must take on urgent status. The Union must give itself the resources to deal with a destabilising crisis on the borders of an enlarged Europe. It is crucially important that the Union have the necessary tools to manage unstable areas. As the initial accession stage approaches, the Union must enhance its dialogue with the neighbouring countries of an enlarged Europe. The aim is to reassure these countries about the impact of enlargement. Talks with Russia in connection with the partnership and cooperation agreements on the impact of enlargement on the Kaliningrad region are a concrete example of this. By way of conclusion, I would like to say that enlargement remains a political project. The good or poor management of this project will either enhance European unity, or emasculate it. In our societies a broad debate needs to be established in order to clearly explain the risks and benefits of enlargement. The misunderstandings must be cleared up. The concerns of citizens in the Member States and in the candidate countries must be taken seriously. As the initial accessions draw closer, efforts to inform people in the Member States and in the candidate countries must be pursued and enhanced. Enlargement will only succeed if it can count on broad democratic support. Enlargement offers opportunities. But there are also conditions and limitations. The credibility of accession requires efforts on all sides. As I have already said, the Belgian Presidency has pledged to maintain the intensive pace of negotiations. It will ensure compliance with the accession conditions. The candidate countries must comply with their commitments in terms of transposing the 'Community acquis'. The road taken was long but we can see light at the end of the tunnel. We are now talking in terms of months rather than years. In this same spirit, we should no longer call them the 'candidate countries', but rather the 'future' Member States. Each enlargement is different. In the past, each accession, each new Member State made its own specific contribution to European integration. This will also hold true for the forthcoming enlargement. ANNEMIE NEYTS: “GENİŞLEME SÜRECİ” Avrupa’nın entegrasyonu konusunda son 50 yılda çok yol katedildi. Avrupa projesi barış, istikrar, demokrasi ve refah konularında üye devletlere çeşitli katkılarda bulundu. Avrupa’nın geleceği ve AB’nin genişlemesi birbirine bağlıdır; genişleme Avrupa’nın yakın geleceğidir. AB Konseyi, Helsinki’de belirlenen hedeflere paralel olarak, AB’nin yeni üyeleri kabul edebilecek duruma gelmesi için gerekli adımları atmıştır. Göteborg’da haklı bir biçimde geri dönülemez hale getirilen bu karar, Avrupa’nın kurucularının uluslararası dayanışma kavramına verdiği önemin bir yansımasıdır. Artık tarih tarafından gereğinden uzun bir süredir ayrı tutulan halklarımızın tekrar birleşme şansı vardır. Genişleme, Avrupalı liderleri yeni sorumluluklarla yüz yüze getirmiştir. Artık Avrupalı vatandaşlarımız için istikrarlı, güvenli ve müreffeh bir gelecek oluşturmak için elimizden geleni yapmalıyız. Aday ülkelerde istikrarın bozulmamasını sağlamak için genişlemeye gerek vardır. Son on yılda Balkanlarda yaşanan tatsız olaylar, genişleme süreci hızlandırılmamış olsaydı bölgede istikrarın yakalanamayacağını göstermiştir. Genişlemenin olumlu sonuçları şimdiden somut olarak görülmektedir. Orta ve doğu Avrupa’da demokrasi, hukukun üstünlüğü, insan haklarına saygı ve azınlıkların korunması gibi ortak değerleri benimseyen istikrarlı hükümetler kuruldu. Aday ülkelere yapılan doğrudan yabancı yatırımlar da sürekli artmaktadır. AB, onüç aday ülkenin en büyük ticari ortağı haline gelmiştir. Bu durumun doğrudan sonucu olarak Avrupa’da güvenlik ve ekonomi konusunda büyük gelişmeler kaydedildi. Ayrıca genişleme Avrupa’yı da daha müreffeh yapmakta ve Avrupa’nın etkisini artırmaktadır. Genişleme, aday ülkeler açısından pazar ekonomisine geçiş için gerekli önlemleri alma yolunda iyi bir teşvik olmuştur. Hızlı ve dengeli büyüme sayesinde yaşam standardı da artmıştır. Avrupa Birliği, 1990’da geçiş sürecinde en ileride olan Polonya, Macaristan ve Çekoslovakya ile ticareti geliştirmek amacıyla çeşitli adımlar atmıştır. Endüstriyel ürünlerin tamamen serbest ticareti konusunda önlemler alınmış, AB pazarları üye ülkelerin pazarlarına kıyasla daha hızla ticarete açılmıştır. Belçika dönem başkanlığı, Nice ve Göteborg’da belirlenen prensiplere göre başlatılan çalışmaları Temmuz’dan beri devam ettirmektedir. Hızlı müzakere sürecinin devam ettirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. 27 Temmuz 2001’de yapılan toplantıda, üye ülkelerle ele alınıp karara bağlanan yedi konu istatistik, küçük ve orta boyutlu işletmeler, araştırma, eğitim, sağlık, tüketiciler ve dış ilişkilerdir. İşçilerin serbest dolaşımı ve çevre konularına ek olarak, adalet ve iç işleri, rekabet, ulaştırma, enerji, balıkçılık, tarım ve vergi gibi konularda da görüşmeler yapılmış ve yol katedilmiştir. Ancak Nice ve Göteborg’da belirlenen hedeflere ulaşmak için bir yandan üye devletler verdikleri taahhütleri yerine getirmeli, diğer yandan aday ülkeler söz konusu kriterlere uyum becerileri konusunda gerekli bilgileri verebilecek duruma gelmelidir. Ancak genişleme süreci sadece bu müzakere konularına dayanmamaktadır. Bütün aday ülkeler, Kopenhag ekonomik ve siyasi kriterlerine uymalı ve söz konusu kriterleri uygulamaya geçirmelidir. Bu durum, özellikle Avrupa’nın henüz müzakerelere başlamadığı Türkiye için geçerlidir. Genişleme sürecinin boyutları ve Avrupa kurumları üzerindeki etkileri düşünüldüğünde, Avrupa Birliği’nin gerçekçi, sorumluluk sahibi ve hırslı bir yaklaşım benimsemesi gerekmektedir. Genişleme süreci sadece Kopenhag kriterlerine uyulduğu düzeyde devam ettirilmeli, AB’nin temel işlevleri ve ortak siyasi prensipleri garanti altına alınmalı ve yeni ortak politikaların geliştirilmesi konusunda sebatlı davranılmalıdır. Genişleme siyasi bir projedir; genişlemenin riskleri ve faydalarını açıklamak için toplum düzeyinde tartışma başlatılmalıdır. Hem üye ülkelerin, hem de aday ülkelerin vatandaşlarının endişeleri ciddiye alınmalıdır. Genişleme, fırsatların yanı sıra bazı şartlar ve sınırlar da getirmektedir. Bu konuda uzun bir yolda ilerliyor olmamıza rağmen, artık yolun sonu görünmeye başladı. |