WRITTEN QUESTION P-3907/02 by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Economic and social consequences of EU enlargement.
Date: 2003-01-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU financing, Portugal, accession to the European Union, direct investment, economic and social cohesion, economic consequence, foreign investment, less-favoured region

C 88 E/308

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

8.4.2004

lentils,
The products that will be made available through the Commission funds are wheat flour, rice,
sugar, vegetable oil and olive oil. In order to ensure flexibility and a swift mobilisation according to the
WFP plans, these commodities will be procured and mobilised partly by the Commission from Member
States and partly directly by WFP from the Palestinian Territories and neighbouring countries.

In the framework of the WFP EMOP n. 10072 that terminated in August 2002, the Commission had also
made available EUR 5 million for the purchase of some 7 400 metric tonnes of wheat
flour and
3 200 metric tonnes of rice for the benefit of a similar caseload.

By so doing, the Commission has been by far the biggest contributor to these two programmes (a table
with contributions to the Palestinian territory is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament’s
Secretariat).

Since the mid nineties, the Commission has been financing every year a food aid and cash assistance
programme in favour of the vulnerable Palestine refugee population. This envelope stood at EUR 15 million
in 2002. The programme is run by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agencies) and covers five
operation areas, namely Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The
programme provides assistance to some 224 000 Special Hardship Cases, including 105 000 pregnant and
lactating women and their children, 500 Tuberculosis outpatients, families headed by widows, orphans,
elderly, medically unfit to work, etc. The beneficiaries assisted by this programme in the Palestinian
territories are 73 000 people in Gaza Strip and 31 000 in the West Bank. A recent evaluation study carried
out on the programme emphasised the relevance of the nutrition and supplementary feeding programme
components. These allow providing dry rations to women beginning in the fifth month of pregnancy until
one year after delivery, and iron supplementation to pre-school children and women of reproductive age at
Maternal & Child Health clinics.

In order to update the available data on food security, the Commission, in close collaboration with the
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), WFP and UNRWA, as well as United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) and its partners is in the process of finalising terms of reference for a
comprehensive food security assessment that will cover urban and rural areas, as well as refugee and non-
refugee populations living in the Palestinian Territories. The mission will study and analyse the issues
related to food availability and food access in the Palestinian Territories and provide recommendations to
the Palestinian Authority for better co-ordinating the efforts put in place by the international community
to tackle the food insecurity situation. The mission is expected to be launched at the beginning of 2003. It
will be composed by a Senior Team of FAO and National Experts.

(2004/C 88 E/0314)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3907/02

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 January 2003)

Subject: Economic and social consequences of EU enlargement

As I pointed out in a previous question to the Commission, the forthcoming enlargement of the EU to
include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will have significant economic and social
consequences,
in particular for regions and Member States with economic structures similar to these
countries, such as Portugal.

it

is difficult

Moreover,
to understand how it was possible to propose a funding framework for
enlargement based solely on an assessment of the impact of enlargement ‘at EU level’, since it is clear that
the EU does not have a homogenous economy and there are enormous differences between countries,
regions and sectors of production.

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/309

As far as Portugal is concerned, various consequences of enlargement have been pointed out, such as the
relocation of undertakings and the loss of direct foreign investments in favour of the new EU Member
States against a background of
increased competition, which will have adverse consequences for
employment and the economic development of the country.

In the meantime (cid:1) and only after the Copenhagen Summit had agreed on a financial framework for
enlargement (cid:1) the Commission has decided to set up a group of experts to study the consequences of
enlargement and reply to ‘questions posed by the public’.

Will the Commission say:

(cid:1) is it aware that the EU is not a homogenous economy and that the impact of enlargement will differ

from country to country in the EU? If so, how does it assess this impact for each country;

(cid:1) what financial resources does it intend to allocate and what measures does it intend to take to support
those countries, regions and sectors most affected by enlargement, such as Portugal? Does it intend to
create mechanisms (special economic development support programmes, as occurred in the case of
previous enlargements) to help offset these adverse economic and social consequences;

(cid:1) what objectives is it pursuing and what results does it hope to achieve with the recently formed group

of experts?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 2003)

The macroeconomic impact of the enlargement of the European Union is expected to be relatively small
for the 15 Member States (EU-15).

The assessment of a study carried out within the Commission (1) is that a cumulated surplus of growth of
0,7 % for the 15 Member States will occur in the ten years following this forthcoming enlargement.

The economic impact will be higher in border regions neighbouring the candidate countries, mainly in
Germany and Austria, and more remote regions will be less affected by enlargement.

Portugal’s share in total exports of the candidate countries towards the Union was only 0,7 % in 2002 and
its share in total imports of the candidate countries from the European Union was only 0,3 %.

Drawing the comparison between foreign direct investment towards candidate countries and allocations to
Member States is much more complex. The European Agreements have promoted substantial market
opening already before accession. According to the World Investment Report 2002 of the United Nations,
gross inward investment in candidate countries increased continuously since 1996. The report also
mentions that the Czech Republic received EUR 5,3 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2000 and
EUR 5,5 billion in 2001, whereas Hungary received EUR 1,6 billion in 2000 and EUR 2,6 billion in 2001.
Portugal, however, received EUR 6,9 billion in 2000 and EUR 6,7 billion in 2001, a remarkable increase as
compared to the period 1996/1999. Therefore,
the Commission considers enlargement a win-win
situation.

Economic and social disparities within the EU-25 will at the beginning increase after enlargement. This is,
however, a statistical effect, due to the lower level of gross domestic product (GDP) of the acceding
countries.

Based on the decisions of the Copenhagen European Council (12 and 13 December 2002), the per capita
assistance through structural funds in the new Member States will reach EUR 118 in 2006, whereas it
stands at an average of EUR 217 in 2000/2006 in the objective 1 regions of the 15 Member States.

(1) The economic impact of enlargement. Enlargement Papers No 4, June 2001.