A4-0430/98

Resolution on Latvia's application for accession to the European Union with a view to the Vienna European Council (11/12 December 1998)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Latvia's application for accession to the European Union, submitted on 13 October 1995,

- having regard to the Commission's opinion thereon of 5 July 1997 (COM(97)2005 - C4-0377/97),

- having regard to its resolution of 4 December 1997 ((OJ C 388, 22.12.1997, p. 17.)) on the Communication from the Commission 'Agenda 2000 - for a stronger and wider Union' (COM(97)2000 - C4-0371/97), its opinion of 11 March 1998 ((OJ C 104, 6.4.1998, p. 112.)) on the proposal for a regulation on assistance to the applicant countries in central and eastern Europe in the framework of the pre-accession strategy (COM(97)0634 - C4-0010/98 - 97/0351(CNS)) and its resolution of 4 March 1998 ((OJ C 104, 6.4.1998, p. 113.))on the proposals for Council decisions on the principles, priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions contained in the accession partnerships (COM(98)0053 - C4-1030/98),

- having regard to the conclusions of the Luxembourg European Council of 12 and 13 December 1997 and the Cardiff European Council of 15 and 16 June 1998,

- having regard to the reports submitted by the Commission on 4 November 1998,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy (A4-0430/98),

A. whereas in the aforementioned resolution of 4 December 1997 it called on the European Council to set in motion the enlargement process with all the applicant countries which met the criterion of a stable democratic order and respect for human rights,

B. whereas it has already expressed a favourable opinion of the progress made by Latvia towards the building of national institutions which ensure the rule of law,

C. noting the successes achieved by Latvia as regards the transition to a market economy, privatisation, containing inflation and balancing the budget,

D. pointing out, however, that further reforms must be carried out, particularly in the legal and administrative sectors,

E. whereas Latvia's accession to the European Union could be facilitated by a strengthening of social cohesion within the country, involving the full integration of its 'non-citizens', particularly those of non-Latvian origin,

1. Points out that the dynamism of the accession process must cover all the countries with which the European Union has concluded a Europe agreement and reiterates its firm conviction that there should be no closed groups of accession candidates, and stresses that the opportunity for a smooth transition to the phase of intensive negotiations should remain open at all times;

2. Believes that the gradual integration of the candidate countries into the European Union will substantially contribute to security in Europe;

3. Notes that Latvia's bid to join the European Union now has the firm support of the majority of the country's political parties, economic operators and society in general;

4. Welcomes the outcome of the referendum of 3 October in which the Latvian people voted to amend the nationality law so as to abolish the much criticised 'windows' system and automatically to grant Latvian nationality to the children of stateless persons born in Latvia since independence;

5. Considers this move to be of fundamental importance to stability in the region, in that it will help to dissipate tension with Russia and removes one of the barriers to Latvia's accession to the European Union;

6. Hopes that the border agreement, which has repeatedly been called for and approved by Latvia, will also be initialled by Russia, so as to remove any possible source of dispute which could give rise to dangerous tensions in the Baltic area;

7. Welcomes the encouraging results achieved by Latvia as regards the principal macro-economic indicators, implementation of the privatisation process and the stability of the national currency;

8. Emphasises, however, the need to deepen and step up the process of administrative and judicial reform in order to be able both to transpose and implement the acquis communautaire, and thus ensure that the current screening process is completed more rapidly;

9. Considers in this connection that the pre-accession aid programmes provided for by the Union should be implemented without delay so as to facilitate the adoption of the measures laid down in the accession partnership, with particular regard to assistance with the training of judges, lawyers, civil servants and teachers of Latvian, in order to protect the local culture;

10. Maintains that the current economic trends and the recent political and institutional developments serve to confirm the positive assessment made of Latvia's accession application, and therefore urges the Council and the Commission to ensure that accession negotiations are opened without further delay;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council, the European Council, the parliaments of the Member States and the government and parliament of Latvia.

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