| Author (Person) | Taylor, Simon |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.12, No.24, 22.6.06 |
| Publication Date | 22/06/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 22/06/06 EU leaders stopped short last week of making 'absorption capacity' - the Union's political and financial ability to take in new members - a formal criterion for expansion. But the debate on the issue reflected attitudes to further enlargement among national governments ranging from unease to outright hostility, especially where Turkey is concerned. French President Jacques Chirac was the first publicly to question the inevitability of future expansion in June 2005 at the end of the Luxembourg presidency. He called for a debate on enlargement and on the Union's borders, a move which was widely seen as blaming the rejection of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands on the wave of expansion in 2004 which took in ten new states. He also announced that French citizens would be able to vote on enlargements after the entry of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, effectively giving them a veto over Turkey's eventual membership. But the focus of the debate on enlargement switched to the issue of absorption capacity and was formally identified as a concern by foreign ministers in Salzburg in March and by MEPs in their report on enlargement in the same month. While Chirac had originally wanted the debate on expansion to take place at this June's summit, there was agreement that the issue, having been put firmly on the table, could be debated instead at the European Council in December, at the end of the Finnish presidency. The Commission will draw up a paper on absorption capacity as the basis for the discussion. In preparations for the summit, the Austrian presidency had proposed language referring to absorption capacity as a "criterion" for future enlargement. The word was still in the draft language presented on the morning of the second day of the summit even though it was opposed by more than half of EU leaders, including those of the UK, Sweden, Italy and the new member states. In the final text, "criterion" had been deleted, although references to taking citizens' perception of enlargement into account, which were opposed by the UK, remained. After the meeting, Austrian Chancellor and European Council President Wolfgang Sch�ssel admitted: "We have dropped the idea of this being a criterion, we have this notion of a condition which is a separate and independent point." Speaking after the meeting, Jacques Chirac said that he had not been seeking to put the criteria into doubt or toughen them up. "I was simply asking to be aware of consequences of decisions [on enlargement]," he said. Referring specifically to the "problem of the Balkans", he said: "We have not had any second thoughts about anyone." While EU leaders promised to "honour current commitments" on enlargement, referring mainly to Romania and Bulgaria, it was clear that there are major problems ahead for Turkey's membership hopes and sooner than many had expected. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has been warning of a "train crash" in negotiations before the end of the year unless Ankara fulfils its obligation to restore trade relations with Cyprus and open Turkish ports and airports to Cypriot ships and planes. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has said that unless Ankara complies, "negotiations should be suspended". But elections are to be held next year in Turkey and relations are worsening between the country's religious and secular forces, on one hand, and political and military elites on the other. As one EU diplomat put it, the challenge was to manage the situation so that the train crash did not happen at full speed, to avoid instability in the eastern Mediterranean. For opponents of Turkey's membership, using the debate about absorption capacity to block its entry hopes may not even be necessary if negotiations are halted in six months' time. Energy The summit welcomed the Commission's Green Paper on an EU energy strategy, published in March, on the grounds that "the paper is... a sound basis for an external policy conducted in a spirit of solidarity and intended to ensure reliable, affordable and sustainable energy flows into the Union". This emphasis on the EU's external energy policy continues throughout the conclusions. Strategic partnerships with main export, import and transit countries are needed, they say, with particular mention of Russia and Algeria. Governments ask the Commission to make developing a "coherent and co-ordinated" external energy policy a priority of the forthcoming EU energy action plan. The conclusions briefly mention the need for renewable energy, improved energy efficiency and a diversified energy mix, in line with the Green Paper, but conclude with a reminder that "it is for each member state to choose its own energy mix". Transparency Council of Ministers meetings will be opened up fully to public view after leaders approved a package of moves to increase transparency. The UK had been expected to block or at least delay the changes after Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett expressed opposition to publicising negotiating sessions following her experience as president of the Fisheries Council last December. But UK Prime Minister Tony Blair did not object to the package when it was discussed by EU leaders. The incoming Finnish presidency will start implementing some measures which include full transparency when decisions are taken by the Council jointly with the European Parliament (under co-decision), although ministers can choose to opt out. Serbia EU leaders struggled to send a positive signal to Serbia despite concerns over rising nationalism and Belgrade's growing estrangement from the EU. Disagreements among member states remained over the idea of cutting visa costs for Serbs. The move is seen by some as a positive signal to Serbia after talks on a stabilisation and association agreement were suspended in May when Belgrade failed to meet a deadline to deliver suspected war criminal Radko Mladic to the international criminal tribunal in The Hague. As one diplomat remarked, "we are a little concerned that we are always saying no to Serbia". Migration EU leaders backed a plan to help Spain tackle an influx of immigrants to its Canary Islands, where more than 9,000 people, mostly from west Africa, have arrived since the start of the year. Moves by some member states along with the EU border agency, Frontex, to set up air and sea surveillance of the Atlantic coast of Africa and EU negotiations with developing countries on immigration and development were also endorsed at the summit. The summit also called on the incoming Finnish presidency to examine how existing treaties could be used to improve decision-making in justice and home affairs. Environment EU leaders have streamlined proposals to make sure European and international growth is environmentally sustainable, while staying broadly in line with actions proposed by the Commission last December. The summit conclusions focus on action to make Europe more environmentally friendly. These deal with modern environmental concerns, such as climate change, energy use and public health threats. They are explicit about the need to get Europeans off the road, a priority widely considered to have slipped from the Commission's agenda in recent months. Where the Commission text said Europeans should be encouraged to use trains and bicycles instead of cars whenever possible, the conclusions call for large scale "measures to effect a shift from road to rail, water and public passenger transport". Eurozone Six new member states (Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) called for a discussion on the inflation stability criterion for entry to the euro-zone after Lithuania was kept from joining the euro because its inflation rate was 0.1% higher than the target figure. A statement to the European Council said there should be an "in-depth analysis by the Commission and European Central Bank" focusing on how to take into account the conditions of rapidly growing economies. Small fast-growing countries, like many of the ten states which joined the Union in 2004, tend to have higher inflation rates. Lithuania felt discriminated against for its economic performance while EU leaders welcomed Slovenia's bid. The country is set to adopt the euro next January. Leaders turned down the bid to review the inflation criterion. Article reports on the outcome of the European Council, meeting in Brussels on 15-16 2006. Items on the agenda included: Enlargement of the EU; EU energy policy; Transparency of Council meetings; The EU's relations with Serbia; Environmental policy; Migration policy and Eligibility criteria to join the eurozone |
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