Jack Wall
Question:39 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the timetable for enlargement negotiations with Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. [12438/98]
Written Answers. - EU Enlargement.
The Luxembourg European Council took the necessary decisions to launch the overall enlargement process on an inclusive basis leading to accession by Cyprus and by all of the new democracies that have applied to join the Union. While the accession process will eventually involve all ten central and eastern European countries (CEECs), the European Council accepted also the Commission's recommendation for the opening of accession negotiations with the five most advanced of the CEECs and Cyprus in the first instance.
The accession process involving the ten CEECs, and Cyprus was launched on Monday, 30 March, in Brussels. Intergovernmental conferences to begin negotiations with Cyprus, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Estonia on the conditions for their entry into the Union and the ensuing treaty adjustments were inaugurated on the following day. At the same time as the Union is conducting accession negotiations with the five most advanced CEECs and Cyprus, the preparation of negotiations with Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania, Latvia. and Bulgaria is being speeded up in particular through an analytical examination of the Unionacquis. The Commission will submit reports on the individual progress of all candidate countries to the Council later this year.