Why telling the truth is so important

Date: 17/04/1997

WHILE EU politicians continue to talk in upbeat terms about the prospects for enlarging the Union to take in the countries of eastern and central Europe, those charged with assessing their suitability for membership know it will be a far from easy task.

It is understandable that EU leaders are reluctant to say anything at this stage which might dampen the enthusiasm of the applicant countries or slow the momentum behind the wide-ranging reforms they are already putting in place to prepare for entry into the EU bloc.

But, as decision-day approaches at the Intergovernmental Conference and the start of negotiations with the candidate countries approaches, the time for straight talking is also coming closer.

The World Bank's report on the cost to Poland of bringing its environmental standards into line with those in the EU, and the other tasks which must be faced in the run-up to accession, is likely to have a sobering effect on all the applicants.

Given the enormity of the challenge facing the country widely regarded as the leading contender for early EU membership, others could be forgiven for getting cold feet.

That does not, however, mean that the truth should not be told. If those knocking at the EU's door are given the impression that it will swing open automatically without any great effort on their part, only to see their hopes of swift admission dashed when the real negotiations begin, it would have a profoundly damaging effect on public attitudes towards the Union in those countries.

It would also undermine the attempts by governments in central and eastern Europe to convince ordinary people that the pain which is inevitably accompanying their efforts to modernise their countries is a price worth paying for eventual membership of the Union.

If people believe it will happen anyway - or learn through bitter experience that the EU's fine words about their place in its future amount to little more than empty rhetoric once the real negotiations get under way - they will feel betrayed and may even begin to question whether Union membership is a goal worth striving for.

The real debate will only begin once the IGC is over, its results have been assessed and the European Commission delivers its opinion on each of the candidates and their readiness for entry into the Union.

But EU politicians would do well to begin preparing the ground for that debate now by reversing the current tendency to play down the difficulties ahead and by adopting a more realistic and honest tone about the challenges ahead.