Steun, een goed nabuurschapsbeleid en efficiëntie nodig voor succesvol uitbreidingsbeleid (en)

The Foreign Affairs Committee reiterates its "firm commitment to all candidate countries and to those which have been given clear membership prospects," but also notes that "future enlargements will require more stable democratic support from the EU's population," in a report it approved on Tuesday. It also says that more substantive policies are needed to bridge the gap between the Union's neighbourhood and enlargement policies.

The own-initiative report by Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, DE) notes that "past enlargements have generally been a great success, benefiting the old as well as the new EU Member States." At the same time, it recalls "that every enlargement must be followed by adequate consolidation and political concentration" within the Union itself, if the EU is to be able to continue functioning effectively.

The committee therefore takes the view that "that the success of the enlargement process (and thus the success of the EU political integration process) can only be ensured if there is clear and long-lasting support for the EU membership of each candidate country." The report therefore urges a more effective communication policy on EU enlargement, and "reminds the governments and parliaments of the Member States that it is their responsibility adequately to inform public opinion about the positive achievements of former enlargements." 

Defining the Union's "integration capacity"

The report insists that for future enlargements, "the Union must make efforts to strengthen its integration capacity." The committee "recalls in this context the need to undertake the necessary internal reforms, aimed, amongst other things, at increasing efficiency, social cohesion and strengthening democratic accountability," although it never mentions the Lisbon treaty explicitly. Members are also "convinced that any acceding State should resolve its main internal problems, particularly concerning its territorial and constitutional set-up, before it can join the Union." 

MEPs note that "integration capacity is linked with the Union's ability at a given point in time to decide and thus to achieve its political objectives," and define the term "integration capacity" as having four elements: accession states should contribute to and not impair the EU's political objectives, its institutions should be efficient and effective, its financial resources should be adequate, and a communication strategy should be set up to inform public opinion about the implications of enlargement. 

Bridging the gap between neighbours and tenants

The report affirms that "participation in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) does neither in principle nor in practice constitute a substitute for membership or a stage leading necessarily to membership." Nevertheless, it argues that there is a conceptual and legal gap between the European neighbourhood policy and the Union's enlargement policy, which need to be bridged. MEPs therefore argue that the EU should "establish an area based on common policies" related to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and support the recent Polish-Swedish proposal, the re-launch of the Barcelona Process, and further regional cooperation frameworks in the Black Sea region.

The Brok report was approved in committee with 51 votes in favour, one against and 9 abstentions.

23/06/2008

In the Chair : Jacek SARYUSZ-WOLSKI (EPP-ED, PL)

Procedure: own-initiative -- Plenary vote: July