European Parliament resolution on Slovakia's application for membership to the European Union and the state of negotiations (COM(2000) 711 - C5-0611/2000 - 1997/2173(COS))
Date: 2001-09-05
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Community acquis, Slovakia, accession criteria, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, economic policy, political integration, pre-accession strategy

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41. Welcomes the Czech government(cid:146)s willingness to scrutinise the laws and decrees of the Bene(cid:154)
government, dating from 1945 and 1946 and which still on the statute books, to ascertain whether they
run counter to EU law in force and the Copenhagen criteria;

42. Welcomes the fact that the Commission succeeded in acting as intermediary between Austria and
the Czech Republic with regard to the Temelin nuclear power station, and that both sides were able to
reach agreement on a plan for a fresh investigation of the risks posed by Temelin, in the form of an
environmental impact assessment;

43.
Recalls that the zero-option must be considered, especially as problems continue to come to light
over faults in the past construction in both the nuclear and non-nuclear section of the Temelin nuclear
power plan;

44.
Calls on the Commission to investigate whether parts of Temelin can be written off as a (cid:145)stranded
investment(cid:146) in the event of relinquishing Temelin (e.g. making possible a network supplement for a limited
period and hence facilitating, economically, relinquishment of Temelin), and to convoke an international
conference to consider the prospects for, and costs of, relinquishing Temelin and the possibility of an
international offer to the Czech Republic to relinquish it;

Notes with satisfaction that, with regard to its foreign policy, the Czech Republic is increasingly

45.
aligning itself with the European Union(cid:146)s joint declarations and positions in the context of the CFSP;

46.
Endorses the Czech Republic(cid:146)s aim of joining the European Union as soon as possible; hopes that
the Slovak Republic will also be ready for accession at the same time, on the grounds of internal logic and
their unique historical relations; expects the Commission, in the unfortunate event of this not being the
case, to put forward practical proposals to the Member States and the Czech Republic as to how to deal
with transit matters, so that no pointless frontiers are erected for a short transitional period, contrary to
the spirit of EU integration and at a high administrative and political cost;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the parliaments of

47.
the Member States and the government and parliament of the Czech Republic.

13. State of accession negotiations with Slovakia

A5-0256/2001

European Parliament resolution on Slovakia(cid:146)s application for membership to the European Union
and the state of negotiations (COM(2000) 711 (cid:129) C5-0611/2000 (cid:129) 1997/2173(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to Slovakia(cid:146)s application for membership of the European Union submitted on 27 June

1995, pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

(cid:129) having regard to the 2000 Regular Report from the Commission on Slovakia(cid:146)s progress towards

accession (COM(2000) 711 (cid:129) C5-0611/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to the Enlargement Strategy Paper on progress towards accession by each of the candi-

date countries presented by the Commission (COM(2000) 700),

(cid:129) having regard to the decisions taken by the European Council, notably at Copenhagen (21/22 June
1993), Helsinki (10/11 December 1999), Nice (7-9 December 2000) and Gothenburg (15/16 June
2001),

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(cid:129) having regard to the Accession Partnership for Slovakia concluded in 1999,

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2000 on Slovakia(cid:146)s membership application to the Euro-

pean Union and the state of negotiations (1),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 31 May 2001 on the Treaty of Nice and the future of the European

Union (2001/2022(INI)) (2),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security

and Defence Policy and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A5-0256/2001),

A. whereas Slovakia has made significant progress in restructuring its industrial and financial sectors and

thus in adapting its economy to meet the requirements of membership of the Single Market;

B. whereas Slovakia has made some progress in reforming its public administration;

Political criteria

1.

Notes that Slovakia continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria;

2.
Encourages the Slovak government to progress in developing national approaches to the problem of
minorities, however notes a gap between policy formulation and its practical implementation at the local
level; calls particularly on all levels of government to implement policies aimed at improving the living
conditions of the Roma, to stop various kinds of discrimination and to increase their representation in
higher education;

3. Welcomes the Slovakian Government(cid:146)s intention to introduce university-level studies for members of
the Hungarian minority in their mother tongue and thereby at least partly reduce the current need to go
abroad to study; encourages the Slovak Government not to allow this intention to be undermined by
reference to the autonomy of existing higher educational institutions but to implement its preferred policy
in an appropriate form;

Regrets that it was not possible to reach a compromise over the rearrangement of administrative

4.
districts which was also acceptable to the representatives of the Hungarian minority;

5.
Recognises that the Roma issue is culturally, socially, politically and economically complex and
involves a number of countries in the region; calls, to this end, for a stronger commitment by the Euro-
pean Union;

6.
Points out that Slovakia is a country of origin and transit for widespread trafficking of women
although the number of cases detected by the authorities is low; is also alarmed at the report of the UN
special envoy which identifies Slovakia as a transit country for the trafficking of children for pornography,
prostitution and sex tourism; urges the Slovak Government to take forceful measures to combat human
trafficking and to ensure that victims and witnesses are guaranteed protection, healthcare, and legal and
psychological assistance;

Recognises that the government coalition has reached agreement on key reforms, such as the amend-
7.
ment of the Constitution, the civil service law and, in particular, the public administration reform, which is
a short-term priority under the Accession Partnership;

Notes that the constitutional reform is an major success for the governmental coalition in that it
8.
enables the country to push through further legislative and administrative reforms necessary in preparation
for membership;

(1) OJ C 178, 22.6.2001, p. 143.
(2)
(cid:145)Texts Adopted(cid:146), Item 4.

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9.
Encourages the government to continue the social dialogue with all social partners and civil society
in order to gather support for the measures which necessarily entail significant transitional costs in terms
of unemployment;

Supports the government in its efforts to increase the attractiveness of Slovakia for foreign direct

10.
investment in order to create jobs especially in disadvantaged regions;

Economic criteria

Congratulates the Slovak government on its determined action to improve macroeconomic stability
11.
by reducing budgetary and external deficits, to stabilise the economy and to improve the business environ-
ment;

Appreciates that wide-ranging structural reforms have been made including a new bankruptcy law

12.
and the debt-restructuring and privatisation of state-owned banks;

13. Welcomes the fact that Slovakia can now be regarded as a functioning market economy, as con-
firmed by Slovakia(cid:146)s accession to the OECD; confirms that Slovakia should be able to cope with competi-
tive pressure and market forces within the Union in the medium term, provided that the structural reform
agenda is fully implemented;

Encourages the Slovak government therefore to continue to focus policy on macroeconomic stabili-
14.
sation and structural reforms; calls on the coalition partners to continue implementing their ambitious
programme of economic reform despite political differences and, in particular, supports them in the endea-
vour to keep the budgetary deficit for 2001 under control despite the temporary negative effects of the
corporate income tax reduction;

15.

Congratulates Slovakia on having abolished the import surcharge in line with its commitments;

(cid:145)Acquis(cid:146) criteria

16. Welcomes the progress made in the area of the Internal market, but notes that Slovakia still has
certain weaknesses in important areas such as financial control, agriculture, environment and justice and
home affairs; welcomes the fact that Slovakia has taken steps to address these weaknesses by significantly
strengthening its staff in the ministries responsible;

Encourages the Slovak government to maintain the momentum of reform in all legislative areas and
17.
to press ahead with the adoption of the draft legislation for Public Internal Financial Control as a matter of
urgency in order to open accession negotiations on this chapter of the Community acquis;

Calls on Slovakia to speed up its alignment with the acquis in the area of agriculture in particular as

18.
regards implementation capacities in the veterinary and phytosanitary field;

19.
Stresses that, since Parliament(cid:146)s last strategy paper on enlargement, no particular progress has been
made on quality policy, and that Slovakia(cid:146)s preparations for setting up an integrated information network
for farm accounts have not progressed;

20. Welcomes the substantial progress made in transposing veterinary and phytosanitary legislation,
though also notes some shortcomings; highlights as a positive feature, however, the fact that Slovak legis-
lation on organic farming is on EU rules;

Recommends that Slovakia continue to endeavour to implement environmental protection measures

21.
in the area of rural development and forestry;

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22.
Acknowledges Slovak efforts in the agricultural sector to implement the Sapard programme and
welcomes the signing of the financing agreements; hopes also that the payment agencies can be established
as soon as possible; recommends,
in addition, that Slovakia improve overall administrative efficiency;
stresses the importance of integrated rural development for the enlargement process; notes with concern,
however, with regard to possible assistance measures, the rural population(cid:146)s lack of information and grow-
ing dissatisfaction; calls on the Commission to ensure under the Sapard programme, and other pre-acces-
sion aid arrangements, that there is a considerable improvement in the information provided to the rural
population on rural development plans and in its involvement in them;

23. Welcomes the conclusion of the agreements on the further liberalisation of agricultural trade and
the double-zero approach contained therein, which provides for the mutual abolition of export refunds
and the reduction of customs duties in connection with import tariff quotas; points out that, as a result,
Slovakia has made perceptible progress on preparing for an internal market;

24.
Notes that negotiations with Slovakia on the environment chapter have only just been opened, but
that proper justification of the requests for transition periods is now necessary; calls for any transition
periods for full compliance with the acquis to be kept to a minimum, and for establishment of intermediate
targets; calls further for careful monitoring of progress in meeting these targets, for the establishment of a
practical programme of implementing measures and for details of the financing arrangements that are
envisaged;

25.
Encourages Slovakia to speed up transposal of legislation in the area of environment, particularly in
the fields water, waste, nature protection and industrial pollution and to develop financial strategies to
ensure the full implementation of the acquis as soon as possible; reminds Slovakia that the European
Parliament places a high premium on fulfilment of the acquis in this area, as confirmed in its resolution
on enlargement of 4 October 2000;

Encourages the participation of Slovakia in the Community(cid:146)s new health action programme,

26.
launched in 2000;

27.
Notes that Slovakia has made progress in combating crime and corruption by formulating targeted
government policy, but increased efforts are needed in particular with regard to the lack of transparency
on financing of political parties; welcomes increased international cooperation;

Calls on Slovakia to translate its intentions into specific actions speedily in order to improve Slova-

28.
kia(cid:146)s otherwise insufficient record in this respect;

29. Welcomes Slovakia(cid:146)s swift response to allegations that a high-ranking official in the Prime Minister(cid:146)s
private office dealing with EU funds is involved in corruption;

Expects that all Slovak authorities will continue to give their full assistance to the EU(cid:146)s Organisation

30.
for the fight against fraud (OLAF) which has been quick in sending investigators to Bratislava;

31.
Calls for the OLAF report concerning the suspicion of misappropriation of Community funds
(PHARE and ISPA) to be forwarded to it as soon as possible, and calls on the Slovak authorities to coop-
erate as fully as possible with OLAF in the conduct of the investigation;

Expects to receive as soon as possible an assessment by the Commission and the Slovak govern-

32.
ment of any damage to the EU budget and measures taken to remedy the situation;

33.

Calls urgently on Slovakia to facilitate on-the-spot European Union controls;

34.
Notes that, despite the progress made by Slovakia through new legislation on internal financial
control, weaknesses persist and efforts must be made to develop the role of internal audit in government
payment centres;

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Insists that Slovakia develop means of combating corruption in the public service by setting up an

35.
anti-fraud unit cooperating with European Union bodies;

Calls on Slovakia to accelerate the preparations for the closing down and decommissioning of
36.
reactors 1 and 2 at the Bohunice V1 nuclear power station and to actively pursue the upgrading plan for
Bohunice V2 and the remaining upgrading safety measures scheduled for Mochovce units 1 and 2;

37. Welcomes the conclusion of the negotiations on reciprocal concessions for agricultural products;
calls on the Member States to speed up the process of concluding a corresponding Additional Protocol to
the Europe Agreement (1);

Calls on Slovakia to put into place mechanisms necessary to link effectively to the Community(cid:146)s
38.
Rapid Alert System, both in terms of alerting the European Food Safety Authority of any serious perceived
or identified risk and in terms of action to be taken by the RAS as a result of an EFSA warning;

39. Welcomes the fact that the Slovak Republic has started negotiations on a Protocol for European
Conformity Assessment;

Stresses that, after the successful adoption of amendments to the Constitution, Slovakia now needs

40.
to quickly implement the public administration and civil service reform;

Asks Slovakia to ensure that when state aid is considered such measures comply with the relevant

41.
EC competition rules, as required under the Europe Agreement;

42.
Asks the Slovak Government to intensify its efforts in the preparation for structural funds, to pay
particular attention to the legal framework, coordination amongst ministries and decision making in the
lead-ministry, to a clear separation of administrative and political functions and to the management capac-
ity and partnership with regional and local partners, social partners, NGOs, SMEs and the business com-
munity;

Calls on the Slovak government to present to the Commission a draft law bringing legislation into

43.
line with the collective redundancies and European works council directives;

44. Welcomes the progress made on aligning legislation with the Community acquis in the field of equal
treatment of men and women, in particular laws prohibiting night work for women and improving the
rights of pregnant employees; stresses, however, that the acquis in this area has been transposed only partly
and that, in particular, directives on equal treatment as regards social security still have to be transposed;

Calls for the promotion of cross-border contact and cooperation between social partners in border

45.
regions so as to help disseminate EU social partnership models;

Calls for the promotion of job creation schemes for workers who lose their jobs as a result of the

46.
opening-up of borders;

47. Would like to see the Slovak government support and spur on the development of the housing
market in industrial conurbations so that housing is provided in areas where there are labour shortages;

Calls on Slovakia, in view of experience with national employment plans in EU Member States in
48.
the context of the Luxembourg Process, to focus on similar initiatives; considers that a monitoring system
therefore needs to be introduced, as a flanking measure, to improve information on the course and impact
of industrial restructuring processes and thus counteract adverse effects on the labour market;

49.
Notes that, with the adoption of the law on Radio and Television broadcasting, Slovakia has made
significant progress in the audiovisual sector, and that legislation is largely in line with the (cid:145)Television
without frontiers(cid:146) directive;

(1) OJ L 359, 31.12.1994, p. 2.

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50.
Earnestly hopes that the Council will soon approve proposals for decisions on the participation of
Slovakia in the Culture 2000 and Media + programmes; recalls that the establishment of a (cid:145)European
Cultural Area(cid:146) centred on respect for and encouragement of cultural and linguistic diversity and a common
shared heritage will contribute to the process of integration;

51.
Calls on the Commission to fully promote Slovakia(cid:146)s participation in Community programmes
which can strengthen gender equality, especially in the programme relating to the Community framework
strategy on gender equality (2001-2005), as well as in the STOP and Daphne programmes to combat
violence against women;

52. Welcomes the fact that the chapter on social policy and the labour market has recently been
opened in the membership negotiations with Slovakia and commends Slovakia for its willingness fully to
incorporate the Community acquis into national legislation; stresses the importance of using (cid:145)gender main-
streaming(cid:146) and equality impact analysis in reviewing legislation and in public administration reform; calls
on the Council and the Commission to treat equality as a major issue in negotiations with the candidate
countries; takes a positive view of Slovakia(cid:146)s ratification of the optional protocol to CEDAW on 17 Nov-
ember 2000, which only a few EU Member States and candidate countries have done;

Pre-accession strategy

53. Welcomes the fact that the EU-Slovak Joint Consultative Committee with the Economic and Social
Committee has been set-up and that the social partners and civil society can contribute through their
discussions to EU enlargement;

54.
Supports the Commission(cid:146)s work in providing ongoing support to Slovakia through the three
instruments PHARE, ISPA and Sapard; insists, however, on better distribution on a regional basis so that
all parts of the population can benefit equally from EU financial assistance; notes that the Sapard agency
has not yet been accredited, mainly due to administrative problems in the Commission, and that thus so
far no support in this area has been provided;

55.
Encourages Slovakia to propose high quality projects in the fields covered by the ISPA programme,
on the basis of cost-benefit analysis and strategic environmental impact assessments, as well as to ensure
effective participation of all interested stakeholders, i.e. local and regional government, social partners and
NGOs in all phases of programme management, so that substantial improvements can be made in the
areas of the environment and transport;

56. Welcomes the Slovak government(cid:146)s decision to join LIFE III and calls for the full utilisation of this
programme in helping to preserve the outstanding biodiversity of Slovakia;

Emphasises the importance of enabling Slovakia to catch (cid:129) up with the countries of the Lux-

57.
embourg group as reconfirmed by the Helsinki European Council;

Reconfirms its expectation that Slovakia will be able to accede to the EU in the first wave of the

58.
new EU enlargement;

Negotiations and crucial issues

Stresses that 2001 and 2002 are two crucial years for Slovakia during which the most difficult
59.
chapters will be opened, and calls on Slovakia for sustained and even reinforced efforts to strengthen its
negotiation and reform capacities;

Other major issues

Notes with satisfaction that Slovakia has developed a habit of aligning its foreign policy positions

60.
with common declarations and common positions of the Union in the areas of CFSP;

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61. Welcomes Slovakia(cid:146)s decision to play an active part in the post-Nice debate and to set-up a
(cid:145)National Convention on the European Future of Slovakia(cid:146) which will be responsible for defining Slovakia(cid:146)s
position vis-a-vis how the EU should develop in the future;

Calls on the Commission to reach a common position as soon as possible on the long-standing
62.
demand for a special programme of aid for the EU regions bordering on the candidate countries so that
the money can be released and the programme implemented;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments of

63.
the Member States and the Government and Parliament of Slovakia.

*

*

*

14. State of accession negotiations with Hungary

A5-0257/2001

European Parliament resolution on Hungary(cid:146)s application for membership of the European Union
and the state of negotiations (COM(2000) 705 (cid:129) C5-0605/2000 (cid:129) 1997/2175 (COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to Hungary(cid:146)s application for membership of

the European Union, submitted on

31 March 1994, pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

(cid:129) having regard to the 2000 Regular Report from the Commission on Hungary(cid:146)s progress towards

accession (COM(2000) 705 (cid:129) C5-0605/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to the Enlargement Strategy paper on progress towards accession by each of the candi-

date countries presented by the Commission (COM(2000) 700),

(cid:129) having regard to the decisions taken by the European Council, notably at Copenhagen (21/22 June
1993), Helsinki (10/11 December 1999), Nice (7-9 December 2000) and Gothenburg (15/16 June
2001),

(cid:129) having regard to the Accession Partnership for Hungary concluded in 1999,

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2000 on Hungary(cid:146)s membership application to the Euro-
pean Union and the state of negotiations (COM(1999) 505 (cid:129) C5-0028/2000-1997/2175(COS)) (1),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 31 May 2001 on the Treaty of Nice and the future of the European

Union (2001/2022(INI)) (2),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security

and Defence Policy and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A5-0257/2001),

A. whereas in June 2000 Hungary became the first associated country to embark on the second phase of

the Association Agreement with the European Community and its Member States,

B. whereas Hungary possesses stable institutions capable of guaranteeing democracy, respect for human

rights and the rule of law,

C. whereas the work of the Hungarian parliament has continued in line with the 2000 programme for

the approximation of legislation,

(1) OJ C 178, 22.6.2001, p. 146.
(2)
(cid:145)Texts Adopted(cid:146), Item 4.