Applicants prove hard to analyse

Date: 21/11/1996

By Mark Turner

HOPES of completing an initial assessment by the end of the year of which central and eastern European countries are ready for EU membership have been dashed.

European Commission officials are finding it much harder than they envisaged to assess the thousands of pages of information supplied by the CEECs in response to a 165-page questionnaire sent out in April.

All too often, say officials, the applicant countries have painted an over-optimistic picture of their internal controls and many of their answers are unclear or ambiguous.

Even where Union-compatible legislation is in place, weak administrations are finding it difficult to enforce.

The Commission is working hard with CEEC governments and on-the-spot experts to verify the information supplied, but political sensitivities are slowing the process. As a result, an in-depth analysis of the situation is not expected before the spring.