Proposal for a Council Decision on the principles, priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions contained in the Accession Partnership with Slovenia
Date: 2001-11-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, Slovenia, accession to the European Union, aid system, cooperation policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 13.11.2001
COM(2001) 662 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the principles, priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions contained in the
Accession Partnership with Slovenia

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

At its meeting in Luxembourg in December 1997, the European Council decided that the
Accession Partnership would be the key feature of the enhanced pre-accession strategy,
In
mobilising all forms of assistance to the candidate countries within a single framework.
this manner,
the Community targets its assistance towards the specific needs of each
candidate so as to provide support for overcoming particular problems with a view to
accession.

The first Accession Partnership for Slovenia was decided in March 1998. In line with the
provisions laid down in Regulation (EC) No. 622/981 (article 2), the Partnership was updated
a first time in December 1999, taking into account further developments in Slovenia. Based
on the analysis of the Commission's 2001 Regular Report on progress made by Slovenia
towards accession, the Commission considers that the time has come for a further revision of
the priorities and intermediate objectives identified in the Accession Partnership. The present
proposal for such a revision draws on the findings of the Commission's 2001 Regular Report
on progress made by Slovenia towards accession.

The attached decision does not have financial implications.

In view of the above, the Commission invites the Council to adopt the attached decision.

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OJ L 85, 20.3.1998, p. 1

2

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the principles, priorities, intermediate objectives and conditions contained in the
Accession Partnership with Slovenia

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 622/98 of 16 March 1998 on assistance to the
applicant States in the framework of the pre-accession strategy, and in particular on the
establishment of Accession Partnerships,2 and in particular to Article 2 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

The Luxembourg European Council stated that the Accession Partnership is a new
instrument and the key feature of the enhanced pre-accession strategy;

Regulation (EC) No 622/98 sets out that the Council is to decide, by a qualified
majority and following a proposal from the Commission, on the principles, priorities,
intermediate objectives and conditions contained in the individual Accession
Partnerships, as they are submitted to each applicant State, as well as on subsequent
significant adjustments applicable to them;

Community assistance is conditional on the fulfilment of essential elements, and in
particular on the respect of the commitments contained in the Europe Agreements and
on progress towards fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria; where an essential element
is lacking,
the Council, acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from the
Commission, may take appropriate steps with regard to any pre-accession assistance;

The Luxembourg European Council decided that the implementation of the Accession
Partnership and progress in adopting the acquis will be examined in the Europe
Agreement bodies;

The 2001 Commission's Regular Report presents an objective analysis on Slovenia's
preparations for membership and identifies a number of priority areas for further work;

In order to prepare for membership, Slovenia should continue to update its national
programme for the adoption of the acquis; this programme should set out a timetable
for achieving the priorities and intermediate objectives established in the Accession
Partnership;

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OJ L 85, 20.3.1998, p. 1

3

(7)

Slovenia needs to ensure that the appropriate legal and administrative structures
needed for the programming, co-ordination, management, control and evaluation of
EC pre-accession funds are in place;

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

the principles, priorities,
In accordance with Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 622/98,
intermediate objectives and conditions in the Accession Partnership for Slovenia are set out in
the Annex hereto, which forms an integral part of this Decision.

The implementation of the Accession Partnership shall be examined in the Europe Agreement
bodies and by the appropriate Council bodies to which the Commission shall report regularly.

Article 2

Article 3

This Decision shall take effect on the third day following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

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ANNEX

1.

INTRODUCTION

At its meeting in Luxembourg in December 1997, the European Council decided that the
Accession Partnership would be the key feature of the enhanced pre-accession strategy,
mobilising al forms of assistance to the candidate countries within a single framework. In this
manner, the Community targets its assistance towards the specific needs of each candidate so
as to provide support for overcoming particular problems with a view to accession.

The first Accession Partnership for Slovenia was decided in March 1998. As provided for in
Regulation (EC) No. 622/98 (article 2), the Accession Partnership was updated a first time in
December 1999, taking into account further developments in Slovenia. The present revision is
based on a proposal by the Commission following consultation with Slovenia, and draws on
the analysis of the Commission's 2001 Regular Report on progress made by Slovenia towards
accession.

2.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the Accession Partnership is to set out in a single framework the priority areas
for further work identified in the Commission’s 2001 Regular Reports on the progress made
by Slovenia towards membership of the Union, the financial means available to help Slovenia
implement
these priorities and the conditions which will apply to that assistance. The
Accession Partnership provides the basis for a number of policy instruments which will be
used to help the candidate States in their preparations for membership. These include inter
alia the updated National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis prepared by Slovenia,
the pre-accession fiscal surveillance procedure, the Pre-accession Economic Programme, the
Pre-accession pact on organised crime as well as the National Development Plans, the Rural
Developments Plans, a national employment strategy in line with the European Employment
Strategy, and sectoral plans necessary for the participation in the Structural Funds after
membership and for the implementation of ISPA and SAPARD before accession. Each of
these instruments is different in nature and is prepared and implemented according to specific
procedures and may be supported by pre-accession aid. They are not an integral part of this
Partnership but the priorities they contain will be compatible with it.

3.

PRINCIPLES

The main priority areas identified for each candidate State relate to their ability to take on the
obligations of meeting the Copenhagen criteria which state that membership requires:

•

•

•

that the candidate State has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the
rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

the existence of a functioning market economy, as well as the capacity to cope with
competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;

the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of
political, economic and monetary union.

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At its meeting in Madrid in 1995, the European Council stressed the need for the candidate
States to adjust their administrative structures to ensure harmonious operation of Community
policies after accession and at Luxembourg, in 1997, it stressed that incorporation of the
acquis into legislation is necessary, but not in itself sufficient; it is necessary to ensure that it
is actually applied. The Feira and Gothenburg European Councils in 2000 and 2001
respectively confirmed the vital importance of the applicant countries’ capacity to implement
and enforce the acquis, and added that this required important efforts by the applicants in
strengthening and reforming their administrative and judicial structures.

4.

PRIORITIES AND INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVES

The Commission’s Regular Reports have highlighted, besides the progress already made, the
extent of the efforts which still have to be made in certain areas by candidate States to prepare
for accession. This situation requires the definition of intermediate stages in terms of
priorities, each to be accompanied by precise objectives to be set in collaboration with the
states concerned, the achievement of which will condition the degree of assistance granted
and the progress of the negotiations under way with Slovenia. The priorities listed in the
revised Accession Partnership have been selected on the basis that it is realistic to expect that
Slovenia can complete or take them substantially forward over the next two years (2002 –
2003). Within this list, issues that require particularly urgent action have been highlighted as
such. The progress made in meeting the priorities of the 1999 Accession Partnership is
assessed in the 2001 Regular Report. This assessment has been used in formulating the
priorities for the current Partnership.

Slovenia submitted an updated version of its National programme for the Adoption of the
Acquis (NPAA) on May 31, 2001. The NPAA sets out a timetable for achieving priorities and
intermediate objectives, based on the 1999 Accession Partnership, as well as necessary
administrative structures and financial resources.

the priority areas

for Slovenia’s membership
The Accession Partnership indicates
preparations. Slovenia will nevertheless have to address all issues identified in the 2001
Regular Report. It is also important that Slovenia fulfils the commitments of legislative
approximation and the implementation of the acquis in accordance with the commitments
made under the Europe Agreement, and in the context of the negotiation process. It should be
recalled that incorporation of the acquis into legislation is not in itself sufficient; it will also
be necessary to ensure that it is actually applied to the same standards as those which apply
within the Union. In all of the areas listed below there is a need for credible and effective
implementation and enforcement of the acquis.

Drawing on the analysis of the Commission’s Regular Report, the following priorities and
intermediate objectives have been identified for Slovenia. These priorities are presented in
accordance with the structure of the Regular Report.3

Political criteria

Democracy and the rule of law

– In need of particularly urgent action: adopt the remaining framework legislation for
public administration reform, including the laws on civil servants and public agencies.

3

The order of presentation is that used as from the 2000 Regular Reports.

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– Continue improving the functioning of the judiciary especially by further reducing the

backlog of pending court cases.

Economic criteria

– Promote competitiveness

through market-based enterprise

restructuring;

stimulate

domestic and inward investment by improving the business environment.

– Complete restructuring, commercialisation and liberalisation of State-owned utilities, while

ensuring competition and further price liberalisation.

– Restructure the financial sector by completing the privatisation process of state-owned

banks and by privatising the insurance company.

– Improve the efficiency of the land registration system by reducing the backlogs in the land

register.

Ability to assume the obligations of membership

Free movement of goods

– Ensure effective functioning of the newly established Standardisation Institute. Complete
adoption of traditional sectoral legislation; complete implementation of New Approach
directives and complete adoption of EN standards. Reinforce related administrative
infrastructure (conformity assessment bodies and laboratories), ensure proper co-ordination
and effectiveness of national market surveillance bodies and prepare the relevant
administration and food operators to the implementation of EC principles of food safety.

– Proceed with the screening of Slovenian legislation in the non-harmonised area to ensure
that it is in compliance with Articles 28-30 of the EC Treaty and complete administrative
arrangements for the future monitoring in this area.

Free movement of persons

– Complete alignment of mutual recognition of professional qualifications and diplomas and
further develop required administrative structures, education and training programmes.

– With respect to professional qualifications obtained before harmonisation, Slovenia should
its professionals can, from

give priority to introducing measures to ensure that all
accession, meet the requirements laid down by the directives.

– Further reinforce the administrative structures for the co-ordination of social security.

Freedom to provide services

– Reinforce the supervision of financial services.

– Complete alignment of legislation on investment services.

Free movement of capital

– Abolish remaining restrictions on short-term transactions

in order

to complete

liberalisation of capital flows.

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– Ensure compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.

Company law

– Continue to enforce the legislation in the area of intellectual and industrial property rights
and intensify the fight against counterfeiting and piracy especially by strengthening border
controls, by improving co-ordination among law enforcement bodies and by increasing
provision of training for law enforcement bodies including judges and prosecutors.

Competition policy

– Ensure due implementation of State aid control notably by bringing transparency into the
activities of the Slovenian Development Corporation and by repealing the export-based
criterion for tax reductions under the Act on Economic Zones.

– Ensure the full enforcement of the rules; increase awareness of the rules among all market
participants and aid grantors; strengthen the administrative capacity of the competition
office, and intensify the training of the judiciary in all fields of competition policy.

Agriculture

– Reinforce

the

implementation,
structures needed for
management, monitoring, control and evaluation of EC-funded rural development
programmes.

administrative

the design,

– Continue to upgrade the capacity of

the agricultural administration and complete
preparations for the practical application and enforcement of the management mechanisms
of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in particular the Integrated Administration and
Control System and the Paying Agency for the handling of CAP expenditure.

– Continue alignment in the veterinary and phytosanitary sector, notably: complete the
veterinary and phytosanitary inspection system in particular at future external borders;
continue to implement the quality control system; complete animal identification; continue
aligning animal welfare standards, animal waste treatment; modernisation of meat and
dairy plants, residue and zoonosis control programmes.

– Continue the overall upgrading of food processing establishments with a view to meeting
EC food safety standards, in particular in the dairy and meat sector, and reinforce market
surveillance for food products.

Transport policy

– Complete legislative alignment on railway transport with a view to the implementation of
the revised railways acquis, and reinforce administrative capacity in the land transport and
air transport sectors.

Taxation

– Complete legislative alignment with particular attention to the VAT (including the

transitional VAT regime) and excise legislation.

– Ensure that existing and future legislation complies with the principles of the Code of

Conduct for Business Taxation.

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– Strengthen the administrative capacity and control procedures as well as improve the
administrative co-operation and mutual assistance in order to be able to implement the
acquis.

– In need of particularly urgent action: Continue to develop IT systems so as to allow for

the exchange of electronic data with the Community and its Member States.

Social policy and employment

– Continue to support social partners' capacity building efforts with a view to their future
role in the elaboration and implementation of EU employment and social policy, including
the European Social Fund, notably through autonomous bipartite social dialogue.

– Complete alignment and ensure proper implementation of EC legislation in particular in
the field of labour law and health and safety at work. Strengthen the related administrative
and enforcement structures, including the labour inspectorates. Adopt legislation against
discrimination and develop a timetable for its implementation.

– Complete alignment in the area of public health, and continue to develop and implement
measures with regard to surveillance and control of communicable diseases and to health
monitoring and information.

– Develop a national strategy, including data collection, with a view to later participation in

the European strategy on social inclusion.

Energy

– Implement the recommendations contained in the Council Report on ‘Nuclear Safety in the

Context of Enlargement’ with due regard to the priorities identified in the report.

– Continue to ensure a high level of nuclear safety at the Krško Nuclear Power Plant.

– Continue to prepare for the internal energy market in the gas and electricity sectors,
remaining price distortions and by strengthening the

including the elimination of
regulatory authority.

– Continue to make progress in ensuring the actual constitution of stocks, including the

necessary investments, towards the level of 90 days.

– Continue to improve energy efficiency and enhance the use of renewable energy sources,

including by strengthening the relevant institutions in this area.

Telecommunications and information technologies / Culture and audio-visual policy

– In need of particularly urgent action:
Telecommunications and Broadcasting Agency.

consolidate

the

recently established

Regional policy and co-ordination of structural instruments

– In need of particularly urgent action: Establish a territorial organisation allowing for the

effective implementation of the Structural Funds Regulations.

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– Establish a clear division of responsibilities for the management of the Structural Funds
and the Cohesion Fund, improve the administrative capacity of the institutions involved in
the implementation of the funds in particular the Managing and Paying Authorities,
especially in terms of recruitment and training; ensure effective inter-ministerial co-
ordination.

– Prepare a coherent development plan as required by the Structural Funds Regulations and

define the implementation structures of the final plan.

– Set up the required monitoring and evaluation systems for Structural Funds, in particular
for ex-ante evaluation and for the collection and processing of the relevant statistical
information and indicators.

– Align with the specific financial management and control provisions for future Structural

and Cohesion Funds under the relevant EC regulations.

– Develop the technical preparation of projects eligible to the Structural and Cohesion Funds

assistance (project pipeline).

Environment

– Complete transposition of the acquis in particular as regards air quality, waste, water
quality (by adopting a new water law and the implementing legislation), nature protection,
industrial pollution and risk management, genetically modified organisms and radiation
protection; and ensure its implementation.

– Continue strengthening administrative capacity, especially at

the local

level and of

institutions responsible for implementation and enforcement of the chemicals legislation.

– Continue integration of environmental protection requirements into the definition and
implementation of all other sectoral policies with a view to promoting sustainable
development.

Consumers and health protection

– Continue alignment of legislation and strengthen market surveillance and enforcement

authorities.

Co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs

– Ensure due implementation of the Schengen Action Plan.

– Continue preparation for future participation in the Schengen Information System by

developing national databases and registers.

– Continue efforts to strengthen border controls especially on the future EU external border

by provision of sufficient staff, training and equipment.

– In need of particularly urgent action: enforce the new asylum legislation effectively,
including adoption of the remaining secondary legislation, improving of the capacity to
process asylum applications, separation of the Asylum Home and Centre for Foreigners
and improvement of conditions in both.

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– Strengthen the fight against organised crime; including by strengthening co-operation

between different law enforcement bodies.

– Continue efforts to combat illegal immigration and continue the further harmonisation of

migration legislation with the acquis.

– Take the necessary steps in order to ensure the implementation of Community instruments

in the area of judicial co-operation in civil matters.

Customs Union

– In need of particularly urgent action: continue the implementation of the IT strategy of
the Slovenian customs administration and develop IT systems so as to allow for the
exchange of computerised data between the EC and Slovenia.

External Relations

– Take the necessary measures to ensure that any international treaties or agreements

incompatible with the acquis are renegotiated or terminated by accession.

Financial control

– Designate a contact point for the protection of the financial interests of the Community,

and effectively start co-operating with OLAF through this contact point.

– Develop co-ordination role of the Ministry of Finance in Financial Management and

Control as well as in Decentralised Internal Audit systems by means of adequate staff.

– Further develop the Public Internal Financial Control concepts (managerial accountability

and systems based audits) and amend relevant legislation.

– Complete the establishment of the internal audit units in line ministries in a harmonised

way and strengthen their independence.

– Continue efforts to ensure the correct use, control, monitoring and evaluation of EC pre-
accession funding as a key indicator of Slovenia's ability to implement the financial control
acquis.

5.

PROGRAMMING

For the period 2000-2006, in addition to Phare, financial assistance to Slovenia comprises
support for pre-accession measures for agriculture and rural development through the pre-
accession instrument SAPARD (Council Regulation (EC) No 1268/99, OJ L 161, 26.6.1999,
p.87); and support for infrastructure projects in the fields of environment and transport
through the structural instrument ISPA (Council Regulation (EC) No 1267/99, OJ L 161,
26.6.1999, p. 73), which gives priority to measures similar to the cohesion fund in the pre-
accession period. Under these national allocations, Slovenia can also fund part of its
participation in community programmes
including the Research and Technological
Development Framework Programmes and programmes in the areas of Education and
Enterprise. In addition Slovenia will have access to funding from multi-country and
horizontal programmes directly related to the acquis. Joint financing by the applicant States is
systematically required for all investment projects. Since 1998 the Commission has worked

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with the European Investment Bank and the International Financial Institutions, in particular
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank, with a view to
facilitating the co-financing of projects relating to pre-accession priorities.

6.

CONDITIONALITY

Community assistance for financing projects through the three pre-accession instruments
Phare, ISPA and SAPARD is conditional on respect by Slovenia of its commitments under
the Europe Agreement, further steps towards satisfying the Copenhagen criteria and in
particular progress in meeting the specific priorities of this revised Accession Partnership.
Failure to respect these general conditions could lead to a decision by the Council on the
suspension of financial assistance on the basis of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 622/98.

7.

MONITORING

The implementation of the Accession Partnership is monitored in the framework of the
Europe Agreement. As underlined by the European Council in Luxembourg, it is important
that the institutions of the Europe Agreement continue to be the framework within which the
adoption and implementation of the acquis can be examined. The relevant sections of the
Accession Partnership are discussed in the appropriate sub-committee. The Association
Committee discusses overall developments, progress and problems
in meeting the
Partnership’s priorities and intermediate objectives as well as more specific issues referred to
it from the sub-committees.

The PHARE Management Committee ensures that actions financed under all three pre-
accession instruments, PHARE, ISPA, and SAPARD, are compatible with each other as well
as with the Accession Partnerships as laid down in the Co-ordinating Regulation (Council
Regulation (EC) No 1266/99, OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 68).

The Accession Partnership will continue to be amended as necessary in accordance with
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 622/98.

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