Dispute over Cyprus threatens to overshadow enlargement talks

Date: 05/11/1998

By Simon Taylor

THE formal negotiations on EU membership which start next week could be overshadowed by new arguments over the chances of Cyprus joining the EU.

Discussions on the main topic for next Tuesday's (10 November) meeting - the two sides' negotiating positions on the first set of dossiers to be tackled - promise to be largely uncontroversial given the amount of preparatory work carried out by ambassadors and experts.

But preliminary talks between Union ambassadors last week to prepare the ground for the ministerial meeting sparked a dispute over whether Cyprus could realistically be treated the same as other candidate countries given the divided nature of the island and Turkish occupation of its northern part.

The argument erupted as ambassadors sought to reach agreement on a draft statement stressing that enlargement should not interfere with the smooth running of the EU institutions.

French ambassador Pierre de Boissieu called for specific reference to Cyprus to be made in the statement, arguing that admitting an island which was not politically united could threaten decision-making in the Union.

Greece, playing its traditional role as defender of Cyprus' interests in the EU, refused to support any particular reference to the island which might imply that it would not be treated in the same way as the other five leading candidates for Union membership.

The French finally backed down and agreed not to include a specific reference to Cyprus in the statement. But a dispute at such an early stage nevertheless suggests that the political difficulties involved in allowing the divided island into the Union will become an increasingly problematic issue as the enlargement process advances.

Apart from a possible argument over Cyprus, most of the issues to be discussed next week have been settled in preparatory talks ahead of the ministerial session.

Applicant countries and the EU still disagree, however, about whether any 'chapters' in the negotiations can be considered closed at this stage. The applicant countries would like to treat sectors which do not present any problems as if they had been effectively removed from the negotiating table, while the Union insists that all subjects will have to be revisited before a candidate country joins because EU legislation is bound to be updated in the five or so years before enlargement.

Union foreign ministers and their counterparts from the six leading candidate countries are expected to agree at the meeting to divide their negotiating positions on seven areas of EU law already covered by the screening process into three separate groups.

Sectors where the applicant country concerned has not requested any transition periods are regarded as “problem free”. Areas where the country has applied for a transition period - as in the case of Poland, which wants more time to reallocate military radio frequencies - are also seen as clear cut.

But there is a third group of sectors where the applicant country thinks there are no problems, but the EU is seeking clarification. For Poland, these include common security and foreign policy, industrial, culture and audio-visual policy.

To accommodate the difference of opinion between the two sides on the best way forward, next week's ministerial meeting will conclude that certain chapters “present no difficulties at this stage” and that the two parties agree to “provisionally conclude negotiations” in particular chapters.

Currently, however, the applicant countries and the Union disagree about the number of chapters which can be considered “provisionally concluded”.

In the case of Poland, Warsaw argues that six of the seven areas should be considered closed, while the EU maintains only three have been settled - science and research, policy on small to medium-sized enterprises and education and training. In Hungary's case, the EU is requesting clarification on two chapters: audio-visual and industrial policy.

At next week's meeting, which will be important as much for its symbolism in launching formal talks as for the detail of the discussion itself, the six candidate countries are expected to ask for at least three negotiating sessions, including another ministerial level meeting, in the first half of 1999.

The number of sectors to be tackled will depend on new submissions from the candidates early next year.