WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2848/97 by Laurens BRINKHORST to the Council. Institutional conditions for enlargement following the outcome of the IGC negotiations
Date: 1997-09-13
Institutions: BRINKHORST, European Parliament
Subjects: EU institution, accession to the European Union, enlargement of the Union, institutional reform, intergovernmental conference (EU), operation of the Institutions

25. 5. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 158/15

(98/C 158/19)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2848/97

by Laurens Brinkhorst (ELDR) to the Council

(13 September 1997)

Subject: Institutional conditions for enlargement following the outcome of the IGC negotiations

1.
Does  the  Council  recall  the  following  statement  in  the  Conclusions  of  the  European  Council  at  Corfu
(June 1994): (cid:145)The institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union must be created at the
1996 Intergovernmental Conference, which for that reason must take place before accession negotiations begin(cid:146)?

How does the Council reconcile this statement with the outcome of the Amsterdam summit, in particular

2.
the view that (cid:145)(...) the way is now open for launching the enlargement process (...)(cid:146)?

Is  the  Council  of  the  opinion  that  these  institutional  conditions  have  been  met  by  the  draft  Treaty  of

3.
Amsterdam and the Protocol on enlargement?

If  the  Reply  to  the  above  question  is  positive,  can  the  Council  indicate  which  improvements  in  the

4.
institutional conditions justify this judgement?

Is the Council of the opinion that the accession negotiations can be concluded without improvement in the

5.
institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union?

Answer

(26 January 1998)

As the Honourable Member reminds us in his question, the European Council agreed as early as 1994 (cid:150) initially
at its Corfu meeting and later in Essen (cid:150) that the institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the
Union must be created at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, which for that reason must take place before
accession negotiations began.

A  number  of  reforms  were  adopted  at  the  Intergovernmental  Conference  held  in  1996  and  1997  and  were
incorporated in the Amsterdam Treaty, signed on 2 October 1997.

In addition, a Protocol on the institutions with the prospect of enlargement of the European Union was annexed to
the  Amsterdam  Treaty.  That  Protocol  deals  with  points  of  institutional  reform  for  an  enlarged  Union  and
provides for subsequent negotiations on reform.

Lastly,  at  its  meeting  in  Luxembourg  on  12  and  13  December  1997,  the  European  Council  said  that  as  a
prerequisite for enlargement of the Union the operation of the institutions must be strengthened and improved in
keeping with the institutional provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty.

(98/C 158/20)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2863/97

by David Hallam (PSE) to the Commission

(11 September 1997)

Subject: Poultry

Will the Commission outline what steps the European Union is taking to preserve stocks of pure bred poultry?

Does the Commission consider that present EU legislation on welfare, disease control and international trade
makes no distinctions identifying (cid:145)pure-bred(cid:146) specimens and other (cid:145)poultry(cid:146)?

Does the Commission plan to implement measures to support the small number of breeders dedicated to ensuring
that relevant breeds and strains survive?