Clamour for enlargement delay as historic talks reach climax

Date: 03/10/02

By Dana Spinant

PLANS to enlarge the EU have come under attack, just days before the European Commission is set to recommend the conclusion of accession talks with ten candidate countries by the end of the year.

Growing calls to postpone enlargement, most recently voiced in Belgium, risk spoiling a historic summit in Copenhagen this December, where the ten expect to get their EU entry-tickets.

With officials in the new Dutch government openly urging a rethink on the timetable and sporadic grumbles in Italy and France, enlargement scepticism is now rife in high political circles in Belgium.

The Flemish Socialists, a traditionally Europhile party which holds key ministerial posts in the Belgian coalition government, warn that enlargement must not happen 'unless the rules of the game are changed' in Europe.

They want expansion of Europe postponed until reforms are decided by the Convention on the future of the EU and by the intergovernmental conference that will follow. 'It is logical to wait for concrete results [of reforms] before we decide about a too hasty and ill-prepared enlargement,' a draft party manifesto states.

Under the banner 'Europe is not our project any more', the Socialistische Partij Anders, (SP.A), led in the past by high-profile Europhiles such as Willy Claes and Karel van Miert, is set to adopt the manifesto at its annual congress next month. It warns that enlargement should not happen before Europe finds a 'social face'.

Belgian Vice-Prime Minister Johan Vande Lanotte, an SP.A member, denies the anti-enlargement manifesto is just electoral populism. 'Europe simply irritates us,' he says.

Guy Verhofstadt, the country's Liberal prime minister, insists Belgium will stick to the enlargement road map adopted by EU heads of state.

The European Commission is keen to play down concerns that anti-enlargement fever could delay accession of candidate countries. 'I do believe that the heads of state will stick to what was agreed,' an advisor to Günter Verheugen, enlargement commissioner said. 'The enlargement dynamics cannot change anymore,' Jean-Christophe Filori, the commissioner's spokesman, added.

However, insiders admit the contagious anti-enlargement mood is spreading.

'The grumbles are increasing, we hear everywhere comments that enlargement is dangerous, that it is not the moment, we are not prepared, and why not wait?' one diplomat said. A Commission official confirmed the mood has deteriorated: 'As we get closer to the deadline, accession of new countries has become more tangible, and that scares many,' he added.

Against this less-than-encouraging background, the Commission will present, on 9 October, a strategy paper recommending that negotiations with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia be completed by the end of the year. However, the Commission will urge the ten candidates to urgently improve their administrative capacity, 'to make sure that the machinery is ready by 2004,' an official said.

Although the strategy paper will hold no surprises for the ten front-runners, it is still uncertain whether the commissioners will give a target accession date for the two countries that will not get an EU-entry ticket at the Copenhagen summit - Bulgaria and Romania.

Verheugen is in favour of this and has suggested 2007 as a target date. However, speaking yesterday, Commission President Romano Prodi declined to say whether the rest of the College agree on that. It is thought some feel setting a date five years in advance is not a wise strategy.

However, insiders say the Commission is favourably disposed to rewarding Sofia for the swift progress it has made in the enlargement talks over the past year.

But it does not want to give the impression that Bucharest, which has been considerably slower in placing EU laws on its domestic statute books, is being left behind. So far Bulgaria has closed 22 of the 30 thematic chapters on which the talks are based, while Romania has closed just 13.

Asked why Bulgaria could not be given a different target date to Romania, Prodi replied: 'We don't oblige anyone to marry anyone else. We judge each country on its own merits. But there are many delicate financial decisions still to be taken.'

Prodi also refused to comment on speculation that some commissioners had raised doubts about whether Turkey could ever be welcomed into the EU's fold.

The president admitted he was concerned that the enlargement timetable could be derailed if Irish voters reject the Nice Treaty in their referendum on 19 October. 'Of course, I am worried,' he said. 'This is a very important moment for Europe and I hope that the importance of the decision will be deeply felt. We are very close to the great project of enlargement that we will have and I am confident that the Irish people have a sense of the future.'

• Additional reporting: David Cronin

Plans to enlarge the EU have come under attack, just days before the European Commission is set to recommend the conclusion of accession talks with ten candidate countries by the end of 2002.