Statement by Mr. Eduard Kukan,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic

Sixth meeting of the Accession Conference at Ministerial level

Luxembourg, 11 June 2002

Statement by Mr. Eduard Kukan 
at the Sixth meeting of the Accession Conference at Ministerial level,
Luxembourg, 11 June 2002

Mr. President, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to be here today to assess and confirm the results achieved in the accession negotiations during the Spanish Presidency. Taking stock of the progress made during last 6 months we have moved further down the road to our accession. In this respect I would like to highlight namely the progress achieved in the chapter Taxation and appreciate efforts of the Spanish Presidency at finding an acceptable solution.
We see the fulfillment of the Road map as one of the crucial preconditions to meeting the objectives set up by Gothenburg and Laeken to concluding the negotiations by the end of this year. The EU position on the Budget Chapter from April is far from being satisfactory.  Moreover, so far the Union has failed to agree on its revised position on the horizontal part of the Agriculture chapter. As it is one of the crucial chapters necessary for moving ahead to the end-game decisions later this year we strongly encourage the Member states to find common ground concerning the eligibility of new members for direct payments before the forthcoming summit in Seville. We are entering the final stage of negotiations which has a direct impact on the perception of the EU accession among the population of our countries. I share the view of the Presidency that we have responsibility for success of our common historical project and therefore the commitments of both sides have to be kept.
 
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Concerning chapter 30 - Institutions I am pleased to express our agreement with the provisional closure of this chapter. In our view, Slovakia shall be proportionally represented in the EU institutions according to the Nice Treaty and its corresponding Protocols and Declarations. As the ratification of the Nice Treaty is the prerequisite for the forthcoming enlargement I would like to use this opportunity and call on the three remaining Member States to maximise their efforts  to secure an early successful completion of the ratification  process. 
As regards chapter Institutions allow me to raise one more point mentioned already at the previous Conference concerning an adequate representation of our nationals in the staff of the EU institutions. We see it as an important issue that needs to be dealt with and we invite all EU institutions to engage themselves in a more concrete discussion on this issue.

I would like to express agreement to close provisionally chapter 24 - Co-operation in the fields of justice and home affairs. This chapter is mainly about internal security and confidence building, where our goals are identical to those of the EU. Throughout the course of negotiations we have submitted eight extensive Additional Information. Slovakia has already reached a high degree of acquis alignment and has made significant efforts regarding the strengthening of its administrative capacity. Several key legislation pieces are currently being scrutinised by the Slovak Parliament. In this regard let me mention the Amendment to the Criminal Code, which shall accomplish the implementation of the Convention on Protection of EC Financial Interests and its Protocols, as well as the Amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure ensuring an effective criminal proceedings The amendment to the Criminal Code is expected to come into force as of August 2002 and the Amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure as of  October 2002. 
Concerning border control the priority is attached to the strengthening of future external border with Ukraine and to the combating of undesirable illegal migration. Implementation of important projects in this field is under way, also with financial contributions from PHARE and the Action plan.
          
As regards the Agriculture chapter we are pleased to have concluded negotiations on the part of phytosanitary and veterinary legislation. We are fully aware that an effective implementation and enforcement of the relevant legislation focused on high level of food safety as well as internal market control systems is an absolute priority for our participation in the internal market. Concrete steps on our part fully respect this line.  In this regard let me inform you that the crucial legislation - the Veterinary Care Act currently in the Slovak parliament is expected to come into force as of  January 2003.
We welcome the fact that we reached agreement on the transitional period concerning the establishments for animal production.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we are approaching the final stage of negotiations the priority of my Government is to prepare the best conditions for the substantial talks on the most sensitive budgetary chapters scheduled for the second part of 2002. Therefore our goal was to enter the incoming Danish Presidency with “maximally cleaned-up negotiation table“. Having said this our top priority for the coming period is to conclude negotiations on the chapters Competition and Regional Policy during the first Accession Conference under the Danish term at the latest. In this regard we welcome the intention of the incoming Presidency  to hold the Conference already  in July.

Mr. President,

Let me also say a few comments on the so called “financial framework“ mainly its Agricultural part. Our goal remains to achieve such a combination of respective factors - production quotas, direct payments, rural development, budget compensations that will secure the competitiveness of our agricultural sector and a tolerable impact on the consumer and the country´s economy. It is an obvious obligation towards our citizens which has to be followed and respected.
The most sensitive issue concerns direct payments. In this respect our position is firm -  since the current acquis contains the direct aid, it is inevitable to grant this part of the agricultural policy also to the new members. Moreover the proposed transitional period of 10 years prejudges the next financial  perspective after 2006, which is unacceptable. At this stage we feel disturbed by the development of the ongoing discussion on this issue among the member states. We are of the opinion that the basic principles of the EU have to be applied on equal footing. Any meticulous discussion has to be avoided otherwise the overall objective can be undermined.
Concerning the reform of the CAP, Slovakia is prepared for future discussions on this issue. On the other hand, I want to stress that we should avoid to make a linkage between the reform and accession negotiations.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The path of negotiations is lined with many difficulties and challenges along the way. We have noticed changed atmosphere in the EU institutions and in the Member States in relation to enlargement lately. We hear the voices which cast doubts on the timetable established by Nice, Gothenburg and Laeken. All of us have to be aware that such voices create confusion and raise questions about the commitment of the Union towards enlargement. Such a development is very dangerous for the support of European idea as a whole. Our common obligation is to make this final stage of negotiations work

Dear colleagues,

Bearing in mind my previous words, I am convinced that it is extremely important that the forthcoming European Council in Seville sends right signal. First of all that would mean finding common ground on the principle of direct payments for candidates in order to allow us to make further progress in negotiations in the Agriculture chapter. Secondly, we expect that Seville will reconfirm the commitment to finalize negotiations by the end of this year with those who are ready and will also further specify accession scenario. 

I hope that the outcome of the Seville summit will create a good starting point for the incoming Danish Presidency to which I wish together with other Member States as well as the EU Institutions all the courage to turn the  “Copenhagen circle“ into reality.

Thank you for your attention.

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