Written Answers. - EU Regional and Social Policy.
Martin Cullen
Question:
54
Mr. Cullen
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the consideration, if any, he has given to the long term integration of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania into the European Union's Regional and Social Policy, particularly to the impact of such future integration on allocation of structural funds to the existing member states and especially Ireland.
[1440/95]
Ireland welcomes the deepening of relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and fully supports the conclusions of the European Council meetings in Copenhagen, Corfu and Essen that the associated states can become members of the European Union if they so desire and as soon as they are able to fulfil the necessary conditions. We recognise however that the issues raised by enlargement to the East are significantly different to those raised by previous enlargements both because of the nature of the challenge facing the associated States and the changes which the Union itself will have to undergo in order to maintain the process of European integration.
It will be important to ensure that future enlargement does not compromise the essential interests and effectiveness of the Union or in any way dilute or threaten its achievements over so many policy areas of vital importance to its member states. We are committed to maintaining the character of the Union as enlargement proceeds and to economic and social cohesion within the EU.
Because of the importance of these issues for Ireland we have had in place for some time an interdepartmental committee chaired by my Department which is mandated,inter alia, to monitor on an on-going basis the position in regard to EU relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and to analyse relevant papers and positions advanced by the EC institutions and other bodies, from the standpoint of their implications for Ireland. In this context, I might mention the particular value of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs on EU enlargement, published last Autumn. The interdepartmental committee is also charged with quantifying the impact of Ireland, notably as regards the EU budget, the Structural Funds and the CAP, of enlargement to include the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
The work of this interdepartmental committee contributed to Ireland's active participation in the negotiation and drafting of the pre-accession strategy agreed at the European Council in Essen last December. It will also be a useful forum for in-depth consideration of future studies by the Commission, as requested in Essen, on the effects of enlargement on the Union's current policies and their future development.
As I have already indicated, consideration is on-going regarding the impact of future enlargement of the Structural Funds and other Union policies. As the Deputy is aware, the Edinburgh European Council adopted the budgetary framework for the Union's finances up to 1999 and the amounts earmarked for structural funds are fully committed for that period. Analysis of the situation after 1999 can have at this stage an indicative character only, given the many uncertainties associated with this process. These include: the rate of development and potential of the economies concerned, the length of time before their accession and the impossibility of forecasting at this remove the level of funding likely to be available for Structural Funds after 1999.
The policy implications of Eastern enlargement are, of course, also being assessed in the context of preparation for the Government White Paper on foreign policy and our preparations for the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference.
