Commission timetable for enlargement under attack

Date: 16/11/00

By Simon Taylor

THE European Commission's strategy for completing negotiations with the leading applicants for EU membership in 2002 has come under attack from two of the governments which will be tasked with steering the enlargement talks towards a successful conclusion.

Spain, which will chair the talks in the first half of 2002, is leading the charge. Its Ambassador to the Union, Javier Conde, has warned his EU counterparts that the timetable for finishing negotiations on the most controversial areas by the middle of 2002 is "unrealistic" and "far too difficult" as issues such as agriculture and regional aid will be left until last.

Spanish diplomats have also criticised the Commission for failing to consult future holders of the Union presidency on the strategy, arguing that it has overstepped its role by making commitments without checking first to see whether member states could fulfil them.

Sweden, which takes over the EU presidency from France in January, has also criticised the Commission's approach. Stockholm had hoped to make significant progress in the enlargement talks during its stint in the chair and fears the Commission's plan to delay negotiations on contentious issues until 2002 could threaten the Union's commitment to 'differentiation'. Foreign Minister Anna Lindh insisted last week that "candidate countries must be able to advance in the negotiation process as and when they are ready to do so".

According to the 'road map' for enlargement unveiled by the Commission last week, negotiations on all areas of Union policy could be completed by 2002, allowing a first wave of enlargement to take place - in theory - by the start of 2003.

The Commission has recommended delaying talks on the areas with the biggest implications for the EU budget until 2002 while starting negotiations on other difficult issues such as the free movement of workers next year. It argues that this delay is essential to give member states time to agree a common approach to questions involving huge sums of funds such as how much direct aid farmers in new member states will receive.

Senior officials claim Conde's stance reflects Spanish reluctance to oversee negotiations on the Union's annual € 30-billion regional aid budget. Madrid is currently the biggest beneficiary of the structural funds programme, taking almost 30% of annual spending. As this money is allocated on the basis of relative wealth, Spain will inevitably lose out when the funds are shared out among the new, poorer member states from central and eastern Europe. "Surprise, surprise", said one

Commission official. "The Spanish know that as the presidency they will be expected to take a more objective view in negotiations."

Although the rules for handing out regional aid were fixed until 2006 by EU leaders at their Berlin summit last year, Madrid is expected to push for guarantees on its share of payments after that. "The negotiations on structural funds should be very straight-forward and technical because of the Berlin deal but they will not be because Spain will be looking for all kinds of assurances," said one diplomat.

But Madrid argues that the Union should try to start negotiations on all the most difficult topics as early as possible. It believes the Commission has taken account of German sensitivities over the free movement of workers by calling for this issue to be tackled next year, while ignoring Madrid's key concerns. Berlin is anxious to address the free movement issue - which could spark an anti-enlargement backlash in Germany because of fears of a flood of cheap labour - before the country goes to the polls in 2002.

Despite these criticisms, diplomats predict that EU leaders will endorse the Commission's strategy at next month's summit in Nice as a way of maintaining the momentum behind the enlargement process.

The European Commission's strategy for completing negotiations with the leading applicants for EU membership in 2002 has come under attack from two of the governments which will be tasked with steering the enlargement talks towards a successful conclusion.