The Environmental Challenge of EU Enlargement in Central and Eastern Europe
Chapter 2
The Process of Enlargement
The current enlargement process started when the CEE applicant countries signed their Europe Agreements - 1991 for Hungary and Poland; 1993 for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia; 1995 for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; and 1996 for Slovenia. The Europe Agreements covered traderelated issues, political dialogue, commitment to legal approximation, and other areas of cooperation, including industry, environment, transport and customs. They committed the applicant countries to bring their legal frameworks into compliance with Community legislation, including the environmental legislation.
In its broader context, the enlargement process is based on the so-called Copenhagen criteria (from the 1993 Copenhagen summit where they were adopted) - that in order to join the EU, applicant countries will have to demonstrate:
 | stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; |
| a functioning market economy able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU; |
| ability to assume the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. |
Formal negotiations were to be opened only after convincing progress in all three areas had been made.
The decision that some of the CEE applicant countries had reached this stage was taken in late 1997 at the Luxembourg Council, after the July 1997 publication of the European Commission's policy document, Agenda 2000. Negotiations were formally opened on 31 March 1998 with the socalled Luxembourg group of countries - Estonia, Poland, theCzech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Cyprus. Following strong pressure from the remaining countries, it was agreed at the December 1999 Helsinki Council to take a more flexible, multi-speed approach to enlargement and to admit all of the candidate countries to negotiations. The Helsinki Council also confirmed the status of Turkey as an applicant country. Formal negotiations were then opened on 15 February 2000 with the Helsinki Group, i.e. Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Malta.
Accession negotiations are carried out individually with each country on the basis of a thorough screening of the acquis (as divided in 31 chapters based on different policy sectors). During the screenings, the applicant countries are asked:
| if they accept the targeted chapter; |
| if they intend to request transitional periods after accession for achieving compliance; |
| if national legislation fully complies with the acquis (if not, target dates for full compliance); |
| if administrative structures are able to implement the acquis (if not, target dates for completing administrative framework). |
Initial "screening" of the applicant countries' status vis à vis the EU environmental requirements adopted to date began in April 1999 and concluded in November 1999 with the screening of Malta. In March 2000, the European Commission continued the screening exercise for the legislation adopted in 1999 via a written procedure. On the basis of the Commission's screening reports and recommendations, the Council of Ministers decided whether and when negotiations should be opened with individual countries on specific chapters.
The European Council at Nice confirmed that the enlargement process is irreversible, but no definite date has been set. The Council stated that the scheduling of the next enlargement should permit the prospective Member States to participate in the next elections for the European Parliament in mid 2004. However, this depends not only on preparations in the applicant countries, but on the existing EU Member States agreeing their respective positions(4).
The European Council at Gothenburg reaffirmed the irreversibility of the process and the role of the road map as the framework for successful completion of enlargement negotiations.
Partnership and Co-operation Agreements
This discussion of the process of enlargement would not be complete without a reference to the former Soviet Union countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia that have formalised their relations with the EU by negotiating individual Partnership and Co-operation Agreements (PCAs). Each PCA is a ten-year bilateral treaty that sets forth a legal framework based on the respect of democratic principles and human rights. It defines the political, economic and trade relationship between the EU and the partner country and commits the partner country to bringing its legal system closer to the requirements of the European Union. PCAs are now in force with ten Eastern European and Central Asian countries. Several of these countries, e.g. Ukraine and Moldova, are already taking serious steps towards harmonising with the EU environmental aquis.
The Stabilistation and Association Agreements
The Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) negotiated between the EU and the five Balkan countries that are not yet applicant countries, also serve as formal mechanisms that enable the EU to work to bring each country closer to the standards which apply in the EU. As of November 2001, the EC has signed SAAs with Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(5).
