Commission takes new approach to candidate screening

Date: 04/06/1998

By Mark Turner

THE EU's decision to extend its screening of first-wave membership candidates by six months reflects a change in negotiating strategy rather than any glitch in the enlargement process, insists the European Commission's head negotiator.

“It is a consequence of a different approach which will take us longer, but give us results more quickly,” said Nikolaus van der Pas, who is leading the talks with Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia and Cyprus.

Screening is the first stage in membership negotiations, during which the Commission explains to candidates what EU law means and then explores where problems may arise in future talks.

The Commission had originally intended to complete the explanatory part of the process by the end of this year, but has since decided to incorporate exploratory talks from the outset.

This will take more time, with screening now expected to be completed by July 1999. The Commission has, however, already completed - or is close to completing - seven out of 37 rounds of talks, including those on industrial policy, telecommunications and the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Van Der Pas said that few problems had been identified so far, although he admitted that the more difficult topics had been left until later.

The Commission says it will complete a first progress report by this autumn, when national governments will decide whether to begin full-scale negotiations on easier subjects. But Van Der Pas insists that even if they do, any results will only be provisional as “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.

It is already clear that talks on the free movement of people, agriculture and the environment will take a very long time. Candidates such as Poland will demand transitional periods for a long list of sectors to adjust to EU laws, while existing Union member states such as Germany will be reluctant to admit migrant east European workers.

Talks on structural funds and the EU's institutions will also make only slow progress until the Union itself has reached agreement on its wide-ranging Agenda 2000 reform package.

Adding to uncertainty, the Commission has not yet decided how it will deal with second-wave candidates Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria, which are being screened more slowly, if they graduate to the first wave in December.

But Van Der Pas admitted that special new arrangements would need to be made “when or if” any passed the test, since they could not be expected to “jump on to a moving train”.