Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:37 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of Government strategy on the future financial framework of the European Union and particularly on a new structural funds regime. [14724/97]
Written Answers - Agenda 2000
Gay Mitchell
Ceist:46 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his response to the EU commission's agenda 2000 proposals. [14601/97]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 37 and 46 together.
As Deputies will be aware, the Agenda 2000 proposals which have been brought forward by the Commission related to the future enlargement of the European Union and to the future financing and development of Union policies taking account of that enlargement. A copy of the main Agenda 2000 documents has been placed in the Oireachtas Library.
A number of important elements of Agenda 2000 are within the primary responsibility of the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Agriculture and Food. European Union foreign Ministers have, however, been given overall responsibility for the negotiations and it is on that basis that I am outlining in a summary way the Government's general approach.
In Agenda 2000 the Commission recommends that five Central and Eastern Europe countries, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, should join Cyprus in the accession negotiations which are to commence early next year. Proposals are outlined for a reinforcement of the pre-accession strategy for the associated states by means of a new instrument, accession partnerships, which are to be elaborated with each of the ten associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe. A new multilateral forum, the European Conference, involving member states and associated states is also proposed. The meeting of the European Council to be held in Luxembourg in December is expected to take decisions on the launching of enlargement negotiations.
The Agenda 2000 package also deals with the financing priorities of the Union from the year 2000 to the year 2006, during which period the first wave of further enlargement is set to take place, and it addresses in that context the development of existing EU policies including the Structural Funds and the Common Agricultural Policy.
What is involved at this stage are Commission proposals. It will only be at a much later stage, after lengthy negotiations in the Council with key decisions to be taken at the level of the European Council, that the present proposals can be translated into the precise level of funding for each member state.
Ireland is committed to the process of further enlargement which is in the interests of the European Union as a whole. In the course of the enlargement negotiations Ireland will, like every other member state, seek to protect and promote its own interests and to ensure that the consequences of enlargement apply in a balanced way to existing member states.
The scale of the enlargement now contemplated is without precedent and will have significant implications for the future of the Union. It will be essential in the enlargement process to preserve what the Union has achieved thus far and the very features of the Union and its policies which have made it so attractive to prospective new members.
The financial framework proposed by the Commission for the post-1999 period, which remains to be examined in detail, is based on an annual ceiling for Community expenditure of the equivalent of 1.27 per cent of the combined GNP of the member states. This is the same level as already provided for 1999, but the formula allows for expansion in line with growth of Community GNP.
The Common Agricultural Policy has already been subject to extensive reform. That process of reform, the so-called MacSharry reforms, is set to continue. It is in Ireland's long-term interests that European agriculture should become more competitive on world markets and be developed on a sound, stable and sustainable basis. However, it must also be done in a way which ensures that the principles of the Common Agricultural Policy are preserved, that the interests of all member states are taken into account in a balanced way and, above all, that the interests of farmers and rural communities are fully protected.
As far as the Structural and Cohesion Funds are concerned, the Government's aim will be to ensure the best possible outcome for Ireland and to maximise receipts in the next funding round.
As regards the Structural Funds, the Commission proposes that a transitional period will be necessary where eligibility criteria have been overtaken and that there should be no abrupt withdrawal in funding. Any transitional arrangements for Ireland must be adequate in terms of the level and time-frame of funding so as to address our continuing significant development needs. We will therefore be arguing very forcefully that the principle recognised by the Commission must be given effect throughout the next funding period in a way which fully addresses our needs.
The thrust of our argument will be that arrangements during the next funding period from 2000 to 2006 should ensure that the purpose of the Structural Funds under Objective 1 is met fully and in a sustainable way. It is important to recall that the purpose of the Structural Funds under Objective 1 is to help certain regions to catch up with the Community average and to maintain a higher level of prosperity on a sustained basis. While we have made rapid progress towards the EU average in GDP terms, we will, in view of our substantial remaining development needs, require significant levels of funding for the period ahead if we are to consolidate our economic progress. Our aim is to reach a situation in which our higher levels of prosperity are copperfastened on a permanent and sustainable basis.
Subject to these considerations, the Government view the Agenda 2000 proposals as representing overall a clear and coherent framework for addressing the challenges which Europe faces in the years ahead. Of course, like every other member state, we will seek to protect our interests in the forthcoming negotiations and to ensure that the consequences of enlargement apply in a balanced way.