Sofia fears being left behind in entry race

Date: 13/07/2000

By Simon Taylor

BULGARIA is fighting moves which could prevent it from joining the Union at the same time as most of the other applicants for EU membership.

Under proposals drawn up by the French presidency, Bulgaria will be invited to start talks on five areas of Union legislation by the end of December. But four other candidate countries - Malta, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania - will be permitted to launch negotiations on at least eight new 'chapters'.

This would allow them to complete entry talks on half of all the policy areas which must be discussed before an accession deal can be struck by the end of this year, and give them a realistic chance of joining the EU at the same time as the six front-runner countries which have already started negotiations on all 31 chapters of Union legislation.

Sofia has launched a diplomatic lobbying offensive to convince EU governments to give Bulgaria the opportunity to make up lost ground. "We hope that the French presidency will consider positively our preparedness to open negotiations on the next package and will give Bulgaria a chance to catch up with those candidates that are well ahead in the accession process," said Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mikhaylova.

But France's stance is supported by EU diplomats from other member states, who say Bulgaria stands little chance of joining the Union in the near future, even though it is still setting its sights on membership by 2006. "There is no point starting negotiations on more chapters with Bulgaria because their target date for joining is so far off," said one.

Under the French plan, Malta will start talks on nine chapters by the end of this year while Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania will be able to open negotiations on eight areas of legislation. Romania is in last place, with talks beginning on only four chapters.

The areas to be covered are considered to be relatively straightforward and include questions such as free movement of capital and services, company law, transport, economic and monetary union, social and industrial policy, audio-visual and culture policy, and environmental standards.

Negotiations on the toughest issues including the free movement of people, agriculture, and justice and home affairs are not expected to start until next year.

Paris is planning three negotiating sessions for all 12 enlargement candidates during its six-month stint in charge of Union business. It has ruled out setting dates for when the first applicants could join the EU during its presidency, but is planning to draw up "accession scenarios" for the leading candidates by December. These will highlight the areas in which the applicants need to make more progress before they are ready for membership and will form the basis for the final stage of negotiations under the Swedish and Belgian presidencies in 2001.