GERHARD SCHRODER Almanya Başbakanı Prime Minister of Germany A Great Day For Europe On 24 and 25 October 2002, the Heads of State and Heads of Government of the European Union (EU) met in Brussels for a European Council. The Brussels summit was the last stage before the decision on the enlargement which will extend the membership of the EU by 10 new member states. The enlargement of the EU marks the end of a process which began 10 years ago in Copenhagen and is to be concluded in Copenhagen in December this year. The Danish Presidency of the EU has therefore designated the conclusion of the enlargement process with the motto 'From Copenhagen to Copenhagen'. The Federal Government regarded the enlargement of the Union and the European reunification which would result from it as a great historic opportunity, said Chancellor Gerhard SCHRODER in his concluding press conference on 25 October. He said that the day was "a great day for Europe and hence also a good day for Germany". The Chancellor also thanked the Danish Presidency for its outstanding work. Previously the European Council had expressed its great satisfaction at the positive result of the Irish referendum of 19 October on the ratification of the Nice Treaty, against the background of which it had been possible to reach the current resolutions. These resolutions will allow the EU, at the latest by the beginning of November, to present to the countries applying for membership negotiating positions in respect of all questions which still remain outstanding, so that at the meeting of the Council on 12 and 13 December the negotiations for entry can be concluded with the first 10 countries. The Council affirmed its determination to sign the treaty of accession in April 2003 in Athens. In its comprehensive appraisal the Council established that the Union agreed with the recommendations of the Commission that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovakian Republic and Slovenia fulfilled the political criteria, and from the beginning of 2004 would be in a position to meet the economic criteria and to assume the obligations associated with membership of the EU. One of the most important questions still outstanding in the enlargement process concerned the EU agricultural budget. In a preliminary discussion on the evening of 24 October, Chancellor SCHRODER and the French State President, Jacques CHIRAC, had been able to reach an important agreement in this regard, to which the Council subscribed in its deliberations the following day. It was agreed that the agricultural subsidies in the form of direct payments to the candidates for entry were to be introduced by stages from 2004, which would be the beginning of the so-called "phasing-in" process. The resolution envisages that the countries entering the Union will from 2004 initially be allocated 25 per cent of the total amount of such payments in the Union. This share of overall payments is to rise to 40 per cent by 2007. By 2013 the new member states should have reached the previous level of subsidies in the Union. From 2007 a ceiling will be placed on resources for agricultural funding within the EU, that is, they should not increase any further in real terms. In this, the only adjustment made will be for price rises, by setting a fixed deflator of 1.0 per cent. However, the expenditure of the EU for the development of rural areas is not included in this arrangement. The Council further resolved that the overall volumes of EU structural funds for the new members should be EURO 23 billion for the period 2004-2006. In addition, the Council determined that in the period 2004-2006 the new member states should not become net contributors to the EU budget. Chancellor SCHRODER said that the agreement which had been reached represented a truly fair compromise for all the parties involved. It now provided a sensible basis for the conclusion of the negotiations for enlargement in Copenhagen. The limitation of real terms expenditure for the agricultural budget for the period 2007 to 2013 was, he said, for Germany the main success of this summit. With it, he said, the greatest cost risk for the enlargement process was under control. He said that for Germany, as the greatest net contributor to the EU, this was an acceptable result. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer stated in Brussels that this agreement on the future agricultural budget for the EU 25 (that is, the EU after it had been enlarged by the 10 new member states) placed the enlargement process on a solid financial footing. Fischer said that with this agreement Germany had achieved in Brussels its goal of limiting expenditure within the EU. SchrOder stressed that it had also been important to him that the European Council had at this time, given a positive signal to Turkey. This had, he said, strengthened the forces of reform in Turkey who were favourable towards EU entry. The summit welcomed the important steps which had been made towards political reform in Turkey, which had brought closer acceptance of Turkish negotiations for entry, said the Chancellor. The next steps in the process must now, he said, be agreed in Copenhagen. The Brussels Council also gave consideration in its deliberations to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad (the former German Königsberg). This Russian enclave, surrounded by the territory of the candidate countries Lithuania and Poland, will, after the enlargement, be situated in the middle of EU territory. Matters which require negotiation are details concerning the transit of Russian citizens between Kaliningrad and Russia. The Council stated that, in the light of its aim of further developing the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia, it was particularly concerned to take full account of the situation of all parties involved in connection with the future transit of persons between Kaliningrad and Russia. The Council further stated that all the parties involved must take full account of the sovereign rights of every state to protect its borders and its sovereign territory. It said that, as part of Russia, Kaliningrad found itself in a unique situation. The Council confirmed in Brussels the conclusions concerning Kaliningrad reached at the General Council of Foreign Ministers on 22 October. Chancellor SchrOder said that the agreement of the Foreign Ministers provided a good basis for discussions with Russia. The deliberations at European level had begun on the evening of 24 October with an initial report by the Chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Giscard d'Estaing, who had reviewed the current position with regard to the work of the Convention. Foreign Minister Fischer said that it had been a thorough, concise and very instructive report. He said that the Convention would, in the coming weeks and months, face great challenges in drawing up the institutional framework for an EU consisting of 25 member states. In a statement concerning the hostage-taking in Moscow, the Council expressed that it had been shocked by the events in Moscow. In addition, the Council in Brussels stated that it was prepared to further develop its strategic partnership with Russia, particularly in relation to the fight against terrorism. The European Council intends to reach important decisions in this regard at the forthcoming summit meeting with Russia in Copenhagen. Spot: The agreement provided a sensible basis for the conclusion of the negotiations for enlargement AVRUPA İÇİN BÜYÜK BİR GÜN 24 ve 25 Ekim 2002'de Avrupa Birliği (AB) devlet ve hükümet başkanları Brüksel'de bir AB Konseyi toplantısı gerçekleştirdiler. Almanya Başbakanı SchrOder'e göre toplantı hem Avrupa hem de Almanya için büyük bir gün oldu. Konsey, AB'nin en geç Kasım ayı başı itibariyle aday 10 ülkeye (Kıbrıs, Çek Cumhuriyeti, Estonya, Macaristan, Letonya, Litvanya, Malta, Polonya, Slovakya Cumhuriyeti ve Slovenya) müzakere tarihi vermesini kararlaştırdı. Konsey ayrıca Nisan 2003'te Atina'da bir katılım antlaşması imzalanması yönünde de karar aldı. Alınan kararlar arasında katılımı gerçekleşecek aday ülkelere 2004 yılından itibaren aşamalı olarak tarım desteği verilmesi ve bunun doğrudan yapılacak ödemelerle sübvansiyonlar şeklinde gerçekleştirilmesi de var. Alman Başbakanı SchrOder ve Dışişleri Bakanı Fischer'a göre tarım alanındaki bu karar, AB içindeki en büyük ekonomik güç olan Almanya açısından kabul edilebilir ve âdil bir çözüm teşkil ediyor. SchrOder'e göre bu toplantı ayrıca Türkiye'ye bazı olumlu sinyaller verilebilmiş olması dolayısıyla da önem taşıyor. Konsey sonrası yapılan açıklamalarından biri de terörle ilgili: AB Konseyi, Moskova'daki rehin alma olaylarını kınarken Rus Hükümeti'nin de krizi çözmek ve rehinelerin çabuk ve güvenli biçimde serbest bırakılabilmelerini sağlamak için harcadığı çabaları destekliyor.