Negotiations
To become a member of the EU each country needs to adopt
the existing body of EU law. The Copenhagen Council
of 12/13 December 2002 reached final agreement on the
accession of 10 countries in May 2004. The formal signing
of Accession Treaties on 16 April 2003 brought this
yet another step closer. Following further preparations,
the ten newest members joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
The UK played a leading role in launching the negotiation
process during the UK Presidency of the EU in 1998.
How
do countries join the EU?
What is the existing body of EU
law (acquis communautaire)?
What are the negotiations about and
what are transition periods?
How
do countries join the EU?
To
join the EU new members must meet the criteria set at
the Copenhagen European Council in 1993. Negotiations
can begin once the candidates have fulfilled the political
criteria, which cover democracy and human rights. Progress
in negotiations depends on each applicant’s ability
to implement the existing EU laws.
What
are the Copenhagen Criteria?
It
was agreed at the Copenhagen European Council (1993)
that to join the EU candidate countries need to demonstrate:
- The
stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy,
the rule of law, human rights and respect for and
protection of minorities;
- The
existence of a functioning market economy as well
as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure
and market forces within the Union;
- The
ability to take on the obligations of membership including
adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary
union;
- That
their administrative and legislative structures are
able to transpose European Community legislation into
national law.
What is the existing body of EU
law (acquis communautaire)?
The
acquis communautaire is the body of EU economic, social,
institutional and environmental legislation that all
states need to implement to be members of the European
Union. For the purposes of the negotiations the acquis
has been divided into 31 themes, or "chapters", such
as Taxation, Agriculture, Energy, Education and Training
etc. The adoption of EU legislation and structures to
enforce it will support the economic reform and restructuring
needed to obtain the full benefits of operation within
the single market.
What
are the negotiations about and what are transition periods?
Negotiations
are conducted at conferences between each candidate
country and the existing EU member states on the 31
chapters of the acquis. The negotiations are conducted
on the principle that candidate countries implement
the whole acquis on accession.
In
some circumstances it has been agreed that candidate
countries can delay application of parts of the acquis.
These transition periods are only granted in exceptional
and well-justified circumstances and where they do not
seriously disrupt the proper functioning of the single
market. They do not grant permanent exceptions to EU
rules and policy. Rather, they are measures, limited
in time and scope, which are accompanied by a plan with
clearly defined stages for full application of the acquis.
Provisional
closure of negotiations on a chapter can take place
once agreement is reached between the EU and the candidate
country. The European Commission also monitors implementation
by candidate countries and Progress Reports are issued
every twelve months.
If
you have any questions please contact DTI’s enlargement
unit:
Enlargement
and Wider Europe Unit
European and World Trade Directorate
Department of Trade and Industry
1 Victoria Street
SW1H 0ET
Michael Porter
Tel: 020 7215 6078
Fax: 020 7215 2235
Email: michael.porter@dti.gsi.gov.uk
