Vol. 437 No. 7
21 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if present negotiations in respect of enlargement of the European Union will be completed on schedule; if there are any obstacles being encountered in the process relating to Irish interests; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Brussels European Council held in October 1993 set the objective of completing the current round of enlargement negotiations with Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway by 1 March 1994. Accession of the new member states would then take place on 1 January 1995, following ratification of the accession treaties by both the member states and the applicant countries and consideration of the matter by the European Parliament.
The negotiations are led on the Union side by the Presidency and the Commission which act on the basis of negotiating positions established in advance by the member states.
Good progress has been made in the negotiations to date and ministerial meetings at the end of last year succeeded in closing a significant number of chapters. As is often the case, a number of more difficult topics have been left until close to the end. Detailed and intensive work will be necessary notably on regional policy, agriculture, the budget of the enlarged Union and fisheries in coming weeks in order to respect the deadline. With effort and good will on all sides it should be possible to complete the negotiations in accordance with the schedule established by the European Council.
Ireland has welcomed the prospect of early membership of the Union for these applicants. Irish economic and political relations with them are excellent and they have much to contribute to the process of European integration. No major obstacles relating to Irish interests have been encountered in the negotiations to date.
The implications for the Union and for Ireland of the negotiations in all of the remaining areas are being followed closely. Our national input to the formulation of the Union's draft negotiating positions as established by the Commission involves a careful and co-ordinated inter-Departmental analysis of the issues at stake.
