CEECs labour to put EU single market legislation in place before accession

Date: 25/09/1997

By Rory Watson

NEGOTIATIONS to expand the European Union eastwards will only open in 1998, but the drive to equip the applicant countries for the responsibilities of the single market began more than two years ago.

The publication in May 1995 of a White Paper on preparing the countries in central and eastern Europe associated with the EU for their integration into the internal market was a clear recognition of the scale of the task ahead and of the exercise's fundamental importance for the well-being of an enlarged Union.

In great detail, the White Paper identified key measures in each sector of the internal market and set out a logical order for bringing the applicant countries' legislation into line with the EU's rules.

“What it was designed to do was to help the individual countries build up a programme. The message was essentially: 'Do not start on detailed legislation on a specific issue while forgetting the broader principles at stake',” explained one of those involved in the initiative.

Overall, that guidance has been followed and an elaborate network continues to be developed to channel EU advice to individual countries.

Now that formal enlargement accession negotiations are about to open, the implementation programme is expected to enter a new phase - and one involving all ten applicants, not just those selected for the first wave of membership talks.

“We intend to strengthen our cooperation with the applicant countries to help them implement the internal market legislation and to ensure its full enforcement. Progress has certainly been visible in terms of adopting legislation along the lines of the White Paper. The real problem will be in its implementation,” explained the Internal Market Commissioner Mario Monti.

Changes have already been introduced in each of the ten central and eastern European applicants and one, Slovenia, has had to amend its legislation twice - first when it broke away from the former Yugoslavia and more recently to take on board EU rules.

Not surprisingly, progress has been uneven.

Romania, for instance, has made clear strides on copyright legislation, while Hungary and the Czech Republic have made notable advances in the financial sector. But all the applicants have encountered difficulties in preparing to respect the EU's public procurement rules.

Union officials warn that while a straight numerical assessment of the number of separate items of legislation implemented by each of the applicants provides a rough bench-mark of the progress made, it cannot tell the full story.

Hungary, for instance, estimated that by the end of June it had adopted national implementing legislation for 579 of the 899 directives and regulations set out in the 1995 White Paper, while the figure for Poland was 405.

But legal experts warn that it remains to be seen how effectively this has been done.

“At the end of the day, the question will be whether courts can enforce the law. What we are talking about is a cultural revolution. Will a consumer be able to sue the manufacturer of a defective product by going to court, getting a judgement and then seeing it enforced? That is the nub of the internal market,” said one EU lawyer.

The Commission is convinced that a fully operational single market will offer the new member states the potential for economic growth and jobs. But it is under no illusion about the enormity of the task involved.

“If important problems were to remain after accession, protectionist political pressure could develop in both present and acceding member states, and could endanger the functioning of the internal market as a whole,” the Commission warned in its Agenda 2000 programme.