III. A Strategy for Enlargement

Negotiations will define the terms and conditions on which each of the applicant countries accede to the Union. As in the past, the basis for accession will be the acquis of the Union as it exists at the time of enlargement. While transition periods of definite and reasonable duration may be necessary in certain justified cases, the objective of the Union should be that the new members apply the acquis on accession.

This will ensure a balance of rights and obligations. The new members should accept the basic obligations on accession, otherwise their right to participate fully in the decision-making process may be put in question. The Union should not envisage any kind of second-class membership or opt-outs. Good preparation for membership, on the part of all the applicant countries, is therefore of fundamental importance. The actual timetable for accession will depend primarily on the progress made by individual countries in adopting, implementing and enforcing the acquis. This should continue, and be accelerated, in parallel with accession negotiations.

A successful strategy for enlargement thus needs to combine:

• negotiations, based on the principle that the acquis will be applied on accession.
• a reinforced pre-accession strategy, for all applicant countries, designed to ensure that they take on as much as possible of the acquis in advance of membership.

1. Accession negotiations

• Principles

The position to be presented by the Union to the applicant countries with which negotiations are opened should be based on the following principles:

• new members will take on the rights and obligations of membership on the basis of the acquis as it exists at the time of accession;

• they will be expected to apply, implement and enforce the acquis upon accession; in particular, the measures necessary for the extension of the Single Market should be applied immediately;

• transition measures - but not derogations - may be agreed in the course of negotiations, in duly justified cases; they should ensure the progressive integration of the new members into the Union within a limited period of time;

• during the accession negotiations, the applicants’ progress in adopting the acquis and in other preparations for membership will be regularly reviewed on the basis of reports from the Commission.

The negotiations will begin with the screening of secondary legislation by the Commission and each of the applicant countries with which negotiations have been opened. This preliminary stage will identify the main problem areas for subsequent negotiation.

In the last accession negotiations, which took place with particularly well-prepared applicant countries, difficulties occurred in the conduct of four separate, but parallel, accession conferences of an intergovernmental nature. The Union’s arrangements for the future accession negotiations will need to take full account of the complexity of the matters involved, the degree of preparation of the applicant countries, and the need for overall coherence with the reinforced pre-accession strategy.

• Transition Periods

In its interim report on enlargement to the Madrid European Council, the Commission indicated that the basis for accession is the acquis of the Union, as it exists at the time, but that transitional arrangements may be needed in some areas such as agriculture and free movement of persons. Any transition periods should, however, be limited both in scope and duration.

2. Reinforcing the pre-accession strategy

At the request of the Dublin European Council, the Commission is proposing the reinforcement of the pre-accession strategy for all CEEC applicant countries, whatever the stage they have reached in the transition process. This will enable assistance to be directed towards the specific needs of each applicant, with a view to the negotiations, in a coherent overall approach. In this way, the Union will be able to provide support for overcoming particular problems identified in the opinions, without the need for long transition periods which would put into question the acquis and the economic and social cohesion of the Union as a whole.

The reinforced pre-accession strategy outlined below has two main objectives. First, to bring together the different forms of support provided by the Union within a single framework, the Accession Partnerships, and to work together with the applicants, within this framework, on the basis of a clearly defined programme to prepare for membership, involving commitments by the applicants to particular priorities and to a calendar for carrying them out; secondly, to familiarise the applicants with Union policies and procedures, through the possibility of their participation in Community programmes.

The existing pre-accession strategy is founded on the Europe Agreements, the White Paper on the Single Market, the structured dialogue and Phare.

In the light of the intensity of contacts between the Union and the applicants during the coming phase of the accession process, in the framework of the negotiations, the Europe Agreements and the Accession Partnerships, the present structured dialogue no longer appears appropriate.

Most accession-related issues of principal concern to the Union and the applicants will be discussed bilaterally. In the event that accession-related issues of a horizontal nature arise which could advantageously be taken up in a multilateral framework, an ad hoc dialogue could be arranged for this purpose by the Presidency and the Commission with the ten Central and Eastern European countries. This approach should enable the dialogue to focus on such issues with a minimum of formality.

• Pre-accession aid

In addition to Phare (ECU 1.5 billion per year), the pre-accession aid to be granted to the applicant CEECs from the year 2000 will consist of two elements:

• aid for agricultural development amounting to ECU 500 million a year;

• structural aid amounting to ECU 1 billion. This aid would be directed mainly towards aligning these applicant countries on Community infrastructure standards, particularly - and by analogy with the assistance currently provided under the Cohesion Fund - in the transport and environmental spheres. It would also familiarize these countries with the arrangements for implementing structural measures.

• Accession Partnerships

The new instrument of the Accession Partnership will be the key feature of the reinforced strategy and will mobilise all forms of assistance to the applicant countries in central and eastern Europe within a single framework for the implementation of national programmes to prepare them for membership of the Union.

Accession Partnerships would involve:

• precise commitments on the part of the applicant country, relating in particular to democracy, macro-economic stabilisation and nuclear safety, as well as a national programme for the adoption of the Community acquis within a precise timetable, focusing on the priority areas identified in each opinion;

• mobilisation of all resources available to the Community for preparing the applicant countries for accession. This means first and foremost the Phare programme but also any new forms of assistance that the Community could provide in the context of future financial perspectives. Other resources could be mobilised from international financial institutions for work on standards and the development of SMEs. Phare could be used as a catalyst for cofinancing operations with the EIB, the EBRD and the World Bank with whom the Commission will conclude framework agreements. Given the enormous requirements, in particular in the field of environment and transport, the Commission suggests that around 70 % of the Phare funds be used for investment.

The programme for adopting the acquis would be drawn up with the Commission in partnership with each of the applicant countries. The priorities set should initially correspond to the sectors identified as deficient in the opinions. Work towards the objectives would be covered by an indicative timetable. The granting of assistance - on the basis of annual financing agreements - will be conditional on achieving these objectives and on progress made. Implementation of the programme would thus depend on strict "accession conditionality" based on suitable evaluation mechanisms and a continuous dialogue with the Commission.

The Commission would regularly report on progress to the European Council. The first report will be submitted at the end of 1998 and then on an annual basis thereafter. The progress of the applicant countries in fulfilling the targets set out in each individual Accession Partnership will serve as the basis of the reports. When an applicant country is judged to have fulfilled the necessary conditions to enter into accession negotiations and has not already done so, the Commission will forward a recommendation to the Council that accession negotiations should be launched.

Each Accession Partnership will take the form of a Commission decision to be taken after consulting the applicant country concerned and with due regard to the opinions of the management committees involved in administering assistance which has hitherto been granted from a range of different sources.

Preparation of the Accession Partnerships will begin in the second half of 1997.

• Participation in Community programmes and mechanisms to apply the acquis

As the applicant countries progressively adopt the acquis in preparation for membership, they should be given an opportunity to participate in Community programmes.

This is provided for in the Europe Agreements and does not raise problems of principle. As these programmes encompass most Community policies, covering education, training, research, culture, environment, SMEs and the Single Market, they will provide a useful preparation for accession in familiarising the applicant countries and their citizens with the Union’s policies and working methods.

The problem is to make this participation effective for all programmes. It will be necessary, depending on the budgetary resources of each country, to permit the Phare programme to cofinance the applicant countries’ participation in the programmes beyond the 10% assistance limit laid down by the European Council in Essen.

The gradual integration of the Central and Eastern European countries into the different programmes will enable their representatives to become more familiar with Community legislation and proceedings and to take advantage of Member States’ experience in areas such as public procurement, the right of residence and VAT. Nevertheless, this does not imply giving decision-making power to countries which are not yet members of the Union.

The involvement of certain Community agencies or bodies will also help better prepare the adoption of the acquis. More frequent contacts within these bodies will enable certain problems to be resolved at a technical level. A special effort will be made to familiarize the applicants with Community agencies, such as the Medicines Evaluation and the Environment Agency, the European Statistical Office (Eurostat), and the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Office, and with certification and standardisation bodies.