Bernard J. Durkan
Question:253 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding European enlargement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47128/09]
View answerTuesday, 15 December 2009
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Written answers
Enlargement of the European Union has helped to consolidate democracy and the rule of law in Europe. It has enhanced economic opportunities and increased the EU's capacity to tackle global challenges such as climate change. As a beneficiary of enlargement, Ireland looks forward to welcoming other European countries into the Union once they meet all of the conditions for accession. I am convinced that the accession process provides strong encouragement for political and economic reform and that future enlargement will help to promote stability, security and prosperity in Europe.
I attended the General Affairs Council last week where EU Foreign Ministers had a comprehensive discussion on enlargement based on the Commission's 2009 report. The Council's conclusions, subsequently endorsed by the European Council, underlined that enlargement is based on consolidating commitments, fair and rigorous conditionality and the EU's capacity to integrate new members, and that each country is assessed on its own merits. The General Affairs Council commended Croatia for the considerable efforts it has made over the past year and the good overall progress achieved in meeting benchmarks in the accession process. Negotiations are now entering their final phase. Council underlined that building on the progress made, further efforts will be required over the coming year in a number of areas of reform and in relation to cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. A working group will commence work on the drafting of the Croatian Accession Treaty later this month. I would hope that if the pace of reform can be accelerated and the remaining challenges addressed, it may be possible to bring negotiations with Croatia to a successful conclusion next year.
On Turkey, the Council welcomed progress in some areas of reform and stated that it was encouraged by the Turkish Government's democratic initiative. It noted that further efforts are required in a number of areas including freedom of expression, freedom of the press and trade union rights and invited Turkey to step up the pace of reform. Recalling previous conclusions, the Council noted with deep regret Turkey's continued non-compliance with its obligations under the Ankara Protocol and that it had not made progress towards normalisation of its relations with the Republic of Cyprus. It called for progress without further delay and invited the Commission to monitor and report on these various issues in its next annual report.
The Council welcomed the progress made by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in a number of important areas and that the country had substantially addressed the key priorities of the accession framework. It stressed that the reform agenda must be continued. The Council noted Commission's recommendation to open accession negotiations with FYROM and will return to the matter during the Spanish Presidency. The Council welcomed the progress over the past year made by Montenegro and Albania and highlighted areas where further efforts are required. It agreed to consider the opening of formal negotiations with both states, as well as with Iceland, when the Commission provides its formal opinions in respect of each application.
Question No. 254 answered with Question No. 250.