Week in Europe 7 - 14/01/03

21.01.2003 | Euroskop

Week in Europe 7 - 14/01/03

EU news in brief

Internal Market: a decade without frontiers has transformed Europe - but it is only the start

About 2.5 million jobs have been created in the EU thanks to the Internal Market, since the opening up of frontiers on 1 January 1993. The European Union's GDP in 2002 is 1.8 percentage points or € 164.5 billion higher than it would be without the Internal Market. Extra prosperity to the value of €877 billion - calculated by adding together the additional annual GDP generated by the Internal Market since 1992 - has been created. That means €5,700 per household on average. The European Commission has published these figures, which are conservative estimates, as part of "The Internal Market Ten Years without Frontiers", a round-up of the achievements of the Internal Market in the decade since the borders came down in Europe, freeing the European economy of a mass of obstacles. The document also looks forward and highlights areas where the full potential of the Internal Market is as yet untapped. It identifies priority areas for further action, in particular services. For the full text of "The Internal Market Ten Years without Frontiers" and further details of the Internal Market a decade after its creation, see MEMO/03/2 and http://europa.eu.int/comm/10years.

[Background paper IP/03/07]

European Economic Area: launch of enlargement negotiations

Negotiations on the accession of the ten future EU member states Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia to the European Economic Area (EEA) have been launched in Brussels. The EEA, created in 1994, comprises the EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. These non-EU Member States enjoy the full benefits of the EU internal market through the EEA. The main issue for negotiation concerns a proposed increase in the financial contribution of these three countries to structural and cohesion efforts in the enlarged internal market. Other issues for discussion will be transition periods, marine products, and agricultural products.

For more information:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/eea/index.htm

[Background paper IP/03/25]

Identification of asylum seekers - EURODAC operational

The very first European Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) will be launched on 15 January. It is called EURODAC and will register the fingerprints of asylum seekers and certain categories of illegal immigrants arriving in any of the participating countries . This will make it possible to apply the "Dublin Convention" on the criteria and mechanisms for determining which State is responsible for which asylum application, as well as the Community regulation which will replace it in the course of 2003. EURODAC, a system for the comparison of fingerprints of asylum applicants and certain groups of illegal immigrants, will become operational on 15 January in the member states of the European Union (with the exception of Denmark, for the time being) and in the third countries bound by the EURODAC Regulation (Norway and Iceland).

[Background paper IP/03/37]

Eurostat News Releases

November 2002: Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.4%

Euro-zone seasonally adjusted unemployment stood at 8.4% in November 2002, unchanged compared to October, Eurostat reports. It was 8.0% in November 2001. The EU15 unemployment rate was 7.7% in November 2002, unchanged compared to October. It was 7.4% in November 2001. In November 2002, lowest rates were registered in Luxembourg (2.6%), the Netherlands (2.9% in October), Austria (4.1%), Ireland (4.4%), and Denmark (4.7% in October). Spain's 11.8% remained the EU's highest rate.

[Background paper STAT/03/3]

Commission indicator forecasts euro area quarterly GDP growth of 0.1 to 0.4% for 4th quarter and -0.1 to 0.3% for 1st quarter of 2003

The indicator-based model for quarterly GDP growth for the euro area, developed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs, forecasts a range of 0.1% to 0.4% for GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2002 compared to the previous quarter. Weak car registrations and poor confidence in the retail sector suggest sluggish consumption and are behind the marginal downward shift of the forecast range. For the first quarter of 2003, quarter on quarter growth is forecast to be in the range of -0.1 to 0.3%. Although the start of the year is likely to be weak in the euro area, it remains compatible with the baseline scenario of a gradual recovery in the course of 2003, as published in the Commission autumn forecasts.

[Background paper STAT/03/23]

Enlargement news

The final year of the EU-15

The decisions reached in Copenhagen at the end of 2002 mean that, if all goes to plan, 2003 will be the last year in which only the current 15 member states call the shots in the EU. Before the mid-point of next year, the EU map will change dramatically. The familiar contours of an EU consisting only of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK will change forever. The European Union will also incorporate Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The current EU member states - and the acceding states - are already heavily engaged in the necessary preparations as the New Year opens. Within the EU, preparations ranging from administrative changes in office space to staffing arrangements, from managerial systems to policy formation, are underway to accommodate an enlarged membership. The EU will be implementing the Treaty of Nice, while the discussion on the future of Europe will be reaching a climax and preparations are made to draft a fundamental text, of constitutional character, that will enshrine the EU's principles and its new objectives. And in the acceding states, the pressure is on to complete the reforms still needed before accession - and, in most of them, to win national referenda that will endorse the accession terms agreed at Copenhagen. At the same time, an EU monitoring process will be underway to present a final report on the readiness of the new member states at the end of the year.

The year ahead will see changes too in the way decisions are made within the EU. Once the Accession Treaty is signed - the ceremony is scheduled for April 16 in Athens - the acceding states will participate as observers in virtually all the EU's technical, advisory and policy organs.

In addition, the atmosphere of change will become almost the norm in the EU. Because Bulgaria and Romania will be continuing to press ahead with their own negotiation and integration efforts. Turkey will be seeking to secure a favourable report on reforms that will allow it to start negotiations in 2005. And the countries of the Western Balkans will be jostling to win the status of candidate too - with Croatia already promising to submit its formal application for EU membership right at the start of 2003.

Greece puts enlargement at the top of the presidency agenda

The priorities of the Greek Presidency of the EU, which runs from January to the end of June 2003, put "Enlargement: the Accession Treaty and the day after" right at the top of the agenda. "The greatest enlargement in the history of the EU, an enlargement that will erase the artificial division of Europe and unify societies and economies that operated for decades under completely different systems, represents a challenge that will not disappear once negotiations have been completed and the decision on accession has been made. The Greek Presidency will do its utmost to keep to the timetable and facilitate the gradual integration of the new member states into the Community process", says the Presidency programme.

The first priority of the Greek Presidency will be to secure the timetable for the accession of the ten candidate countries according to the Copenhagen decisions. The drafting of the new Treaty must be completed, the opinion of the Commission must be received and the assent of the European Parliament and the approval of the Council must also be given. Moreover, if the settlement of the political problem in Cyprus is achieved before completing the Accession Treaty, the Treaty will accommodate the agreed terms in line with the principles on which the EU is founded.

The Presidency sees enlargement as colouring the approach to many EU policies. It says "the further implementation of the Lisbon Strategy and the Spring Summit in 2003 will take place within a new political and economic context, bringing major challenges as well as opportunities. The political and economic uncertainties, with regard to growth and stability in Europe and the world, will be offset by a European currency, which has proved to be one of the world's strongest, and by the prospect of the EU's enlargement".

At the European Council in June, the Presidency plans to have "the first in-depth debate about the Future of Europe, based on the proposals of the Convention. The questions that were raised in Laeken concern both the future of the institutions and the future of the enlarged Union's policies", it says.

Similarly for the Union's policy on immigration, asylum and the management of external borders. "Community policies in this area have so far not matched the magnitude of the immigration phenomenon that we are facing. The operation of the single market, including the free movement of workers, means that we have common responsibilities. At Seville we adopted decisions that will have to be implemented before the European Council in Thessaloniki", the Presidency says.

The Presidency will also implement the new, enhanced pre-accession strategy for Bulgaria and Romania, as well as aiming to close the remaining chapters of the community acquis. And enhanced support for Turkey - and a new Accession Partnership - will be paralleled by analysis of the degree of implementation of Turkey's legislative initiatives to meet the Copenhagen criteria.

Greece is also emphasising inclusion in its agenda: its chosen theme of "Our Europe" belongs, it says, "to all European peoples without exceptions or exclusions. Everybody has a stake in such a future. Enlargement brings this vision much closer. 'Our Europe' welcomes the new member states, confident of achieving a new synthesis and a new dynamism; the sort of dynamism that these states have shown during their rapid social, political and economic transition. It is up to us all to make enlargement a catalyst for accelerating European integration; a force which will ensure that Europe is able to face the challenges of a new era in world affairs."

In external relations, the Presidency will concentrate its efforts on "regions of immediate proximity": it says "the Balkans, the Mediterranean area and the Middle East, Russia and the countries of the Black Sea demand our constant attention in the interests of safeguarding peace and democracy. They offer, at the same time, major opportunities for mutual benefits in the economic sector."

"Finally", says Greece, "we consider enlargement as a leap towards European integration and under no circumstances should it be allowed to create new dividing lines. Our aim is that enlargement serves as a point of departure for building stronger relations in the wider European space from Russia to the Mediterranean, based on common values and economic interests.

Prodi looks ahead to further enlargement

Speaking in Athens after the traditional Commission-Presidency meeting on January 10, European Commission President Romano Prodi looked beyond the upcoming year at what further enlargements might bring.

Addressing himself particularly to the future of the Balkans, he said: "We need to show the doors of Europe are open". The Balkans, he said clearly, are part of Europe, and eventually all of them can become members. Croatia - which is planning to submit an EU membership application in the coming weeks - "is part of Europe; it's quite clear", he said. "We must start this process", he said - claiming it was "a Commission priority shared by the Greek Presidency".

But the Commission President added that the process would still depend on each country being judged on its own merits, so the Balkan states would probably not join as a group. "There is an application procedure which lasts some years - these things all take time" - and there are differences in economic development across the countries of the Balkans, he noted. Nevertheless, he said, there is "hope engendered by the prospect of EU membership, and their economies have moved on".

"All European countries if they so want can accede at the right time as long as they meet the right conditions", Prodi went on. "We want members which accept our principles, the rule of law, economic and social conditions that allow them to participate in European development", he said. He made clear, though, that there are "there are geographical , political and cultural borders" that will define how far the process can go.

Enlargement makes transport infrastructure review urgent

A new high-level group of EU and candidate country experts on transport met in Brussels on 10 January to set in motion an urgent review of transport infrastructure needs in the light of impending EU enlargement. The new group, chaired by former European Commission Vice-President Karel Van Miert, is to help identify the priority projects for the trans-European network in the enlarged EU.

It has been set up by the Commission Vice-President responsible for transport and energy, Loyola de Palacio. The group, with one representative from each member state and from each of the 12 countries set to join the Union by 2007 (as well as one representative of the European Investment Bank), will have to identify a limited number of priority projects on the major corridors which will carry the heavy flows of traffic between the States in the enlarged Union.

In spring 2003 the group will recommend a list of priority projects to the Commission. The projects selected will have to contribute to substantially improving traffic conditions on the major trans-frontier corridors, to removing bottlenecks on the main routes or to promoting interoperability between the regional networks, taking due account of the environment. The Group will also have to keep in mind the objective of economic and social cohesion with a view, in particular, to integrating the outlying regions and the whole of the territory of the candidate countries. By the end of 2003, the Commission will make a proposal for far-reaching revision of the guidelines for the trans-European transport network.

To date, only 20% of the projects scheduled by 2010 have been completed. The furthest behind schedule are the trans-frontier and railway projects. "Added to these delays, which are due mainly to the lack of resources for funding the major improvements to the trans-European network, now there is the extra challenge of enlargement", says the Commission.

"Construction of suitable transport infrastructure is one of the keys to the success of the internal market and to the competitiveness of the enlarged Union of the future. To mobilise investors, the Union must clearly define and vigorously assert which major projects it considers priorities for carrying traffic between Member States and ensure balanced, sustainable development thereof. The recommendations made by the Van Miert Group will play a decisive role in this process," de Palacio said.

Negotiations still underway for Bulgaria and Romania

Romania provisionally closed the chapter on culture and audio-visual policy at a negotiating session with the European Union at deputy level on December 20. It also discussed agriculture, freedom to provide services, and financial and budgetary provisions - but these will have to be returned to when Romania provides more information.

Bulgaria also had a negotiating session on December 20, which focused entirely on the veterinary and plant health part of the agriculture chapter. But it was not possible to close this chapter; Bulgaria is to provide further information.

The complex table listing progress with negotiating results, a constant feature of the enlargement story for nearly four years, is now enormously simplified since ten of the candidate countries closed all negotiations in Copenhagen. It now effectively has only two columns - one for Bulgaria and one for Romania. And it is simply summarised: Bulgaria has opened 30 of the 31 chapters, and closed 23; and Romania has opened 30, and closed 16

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/pdf/stateofplay_20_12_02.pdf

"No questions" over Cyprus' accession

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis rejected any suggestion of hesitancy over Cyprus' future membership of the EU when he spoke in Athens on January 10, after the Presidency meeting with the European Commission. "In Copenhagen there was a unanimous decision that Cyprus will become a member of the European Union, and this decision was taken in accordance with the Helsinki conclusions", he insisted. "On the basis of these two decisions we proceed", he went on. If there is no solution of the political problem, the Republic of Cyprus will sign the Accession Treaty and the acquis will not apply in the northern part of the island. "But", he promised, "Greece will undertake every possible step to achieve agreement. Negotiations are necessary. Both sides wish to have negotiations. But up to now there are difficulties on the Turkish Cypriot side. They say they want to talk, but they have not begun".

Gliding gently through Hungary

Hungary should see cleaner trams and better sewers over the coming years following a new agreement with the European Commission's ISPA programme and the European Investment Bank. EIB is to lend €395 million for transport and environmental projects, and the ISPA programme is providing co-financing. €195 million will go into road and rail rehabilitation works throughout Hungary, as well as environmental schemes, including several sewerage networks and water treatment facilities as well as solid waste disposal facilities. The City of Budapest is to receive €125 million to upgrade its underground Metro Line 2 and €75 million for buying 40 new tramcars. The loans brought total EIB lending in Hungary in 2002 to €515 million.