Continuing enlargement - Strategy paper and Report fot the European Commission on the progress towards accession by Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey {SEC(2003) 1210, 1211, 1212}
Date: 2003-11-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, Romania, Türkiye, accession criteria, accession to the European Union

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 5.11.2003
COM(2003) 676 final

CONTINUING ENLARGEMENT

Strategy paper
and
Report fot the European Commission
on the progress towards accession by Bulgaria,
Romania and Turkey

{SEC(2003) 1210, 1211, 1212}

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE............................................................................................................................. 3

A. THE STATE OF THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS............................................................. 5

B. BRINGING BULGARIA AND ROMANIA INTO THE UNION............................................. 9

1.

2.

3.

PROGRESS MADE BY BULGARIA IN MEETING THE MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA................................ 9

PROGRESS MADE BY ROMANIA IN MEETING THE MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA............................... 10

PRE-ACCESSION STRATEGY FOR BULGARIA AND ROMANIA................................................ 11

4. A FRAMEWORK FOR FINALISING THE NEGOTIATIONS......................................................... 12

4.1 Towards the conclusion of negotiations ................................................................ 12

4.2 Outline for a financial framework........................................................................ 13

C. TURKEY IN THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS – PROGRESS AND CHALLENGEs............ 15

1.

2.

PROGRESS MADE BY TURKEY IN MEETING THE MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA................................. 15

PRE-ACCESSION STRATEGY FOR TURKEY ...................................................................... 17

D. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................... 19

ANNEXES .......................................................................................................................... 21

ANNEX 1: REFERENDUMS AND RATIFICATIONS OF THE 2003 ACCESSION TREATY ....... 22

ANNEX 2: CONCLUSIONS OF THE REGULAR REPORTS ON BULGARIA, ROMANIA AND
TURKEY ............................................................................................................................ 23

Bulgaria ................................................................................................................ 23

Romania ................................................................................................................ 27

Turkey .................................................................................................................. 30

ANNEX 3: HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTIONS RATIFIED BY THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES .. 37

ANNEX 4: TWINNING PROJECTS AND PEER REVIEWS...................................................... 38

ANNEX 5: STATE OF PLAY OF NEGOTIATIONS ................................................................. 41

ANNEX 6: MAIN STATISTICAL INDICATORS (2002).......................................................... 42

2

PREFACE

The European Union is on the eve of the one of the greatest developments in its history.
In six months’ time it will extend its membership from 15 to 25 countries, bringing in the
Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Cyprus,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Hungary,  Malta,  Poland,  Slovenia
and Slovakia as new members on 1 May 2004. Moreover, negotiations are ongoing with
Bulgaria and Romania with a view to their membership in 2007 and a strengthened pre-
accession strategy for Turkey is being implemented.

This enlargement, the fifth to take place since the beginning of the European Community
50  years  ago,  demonstrates  once  again  the  attraction  of  the  European  model  for  young
democracies.

Yet  this  enlargement  is  unlike  those  that  preceded  it.  Never  before  have  so  many
accessions  taken  place  at  the  same  time.  Never  before  have  they  been  so  thoroughly
prepared, with a sweeping transformation of the economies and societies of the applicant
countries.  Stable  democracies  and  functioning  market  economies  are  now  well
established in Central and Eastern Europe, and the credit for this success lies mainly with
the  governments  and  peoples  of  those  countries,  aided  by  the  prospect  of  EU
membership.

In a historical perspective, the coming enlargement is more than another extension of the
EU: it represents the application on a continental scale of a European model of peaceful
and voluntary integration among free peoples. In fact, it is the realisation of a dream of
the founders of European integration: the reunification of the European continent, divided
in the aftermath of the Second World War.

The acceding countries need also to adjust to their future role as members of the EU, with
full and equal rights. Up to now, their work on the way to Europe has been to adopt and
implement  the  common  policies:  their  new  work  in  Europe,  beginning  with  accession,
will  be  to  exercise  a  voice  in  the  making  of  those  policies.  The  EU  institutions  and
member  states,  too,  must  prepare  themselves  for  expansion,  by  finalising  the
Constitutional  Treaty  to  give  an  adequate  framework  for  the  operation  of  the  enlarged
Union.

Accession negotiations are well advanced with Bulgaria and Romania, and will continue
on  the  basis  of  the  same  principles  that  guided  the  negotiations  with  the  ten  acceding
countries, without calling into question  the results  already achieved. This has also been
acted in the Accession Treaty.

Turkey  is  making  significant  progress  in  preparing  for  membership,  and  its  progress  is
judged according to the same accession criteria as the other countries.

The accession process, which has already served as a catalyst for change in the acceding
countries, offers great benefits in terms of stability and prosperity. The  Western  Balkan
countries  have  been  given  a  European  perspective.  Among  them,  Croatia  has  recently
submitted an application for membership.

3

The  process  of  enlargement  is  a  challenge  that  the  EU  has  willingly  accepted.  The
existing members consent to share with others the benefits obtained in  Western Europe
through the creation of a political and economic area where war has become impossible.
The prospective members look to us for guarantees of stability, peace and prosperity, and
for  the  opportunity  to  share  with  us  in  the  unification  of  Europe.  For  their  new
democracies,  Europe  is  a  powerful  symbol,  signifying  their  fundamental  values  and
aspirations.

4

A.  THE STATE OF THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS

In  last  year’s  Strategy  Paper  entitled  “Towards  the  enlarged  Union”,  the  Commission
recommended concluding the accession negotiations with the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. The Brussels
European  Council  of  October  2002,  endorsing  the  Commission’s  findings  and
recommendations, confirmed “its determination to conclude accession negotiations with
these countries at the European Council in Copenhagen” in December 2002, considering
that  these  countries  will  be  able  to  fulfil  the  accession  criteria  from  the  beginning  of
2004.  The  Council  also  took  into  consideration  the  overall  progress  achieved  in  the
accession  negotiations,  as  well  as  in  transposing  and  implementing  the  acquis  and  the
commitments undertaken in the negotiations by the candidates.

Subsequently, the negotiations with these ten countries were taken into their final phase
in the months leading up to the Copenhagen European Council in December 2002. The
final  package,  fair  and  balanced,  was  agreed  at  Copenhagen,  the  very  place  where  the
“Copenhagen criteria” for accession were laid down back in 1993.

The Accession Treaty was signed at a ceremony at the Stoa of Attalos in Athens on 16
April 2003.1 The Treaty was then submitted for ratification by the current Member States
and acceding states, in accordance with each state’s national ratification procedures. This
process must continue without delay in the remaining states so as to ensure the entry into
force of the Treaty on 1 May 2004, which was fixed as the date of accession to the Union.
Preparatory work for its implementation is ongoing.

As regards Cyprus, the European Council has repeatedly underlined its strong preference
for accession by a united Cyprus. Regrettably, the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-
General  to  find  a  solution  to  the  Cyprus  problem  have  not  yet  succeeded.  At  the
Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003, the Union called for an early resumption of
peace  talks  on  the  basis  of  the  UN  Secretary-General’s  proposals  and  welcomed  the
Commission’s  willingness  to  offer  assistance  for  a  speedy  solution  to  the  Cyprus
problem. Taking up the invitation of the Copenhagen European Council, the Commission
adopted  in  June  2003  a  Communication  aiming  at  economic  development  of  the  north
and bringing it closer to the Union. The Commission considers that there are favourable
conditions for the two communities to reach  a  comprehensive  settlement  of  the  Cyprus
problem before Cyprus’ accession to the EU on 1 May 2004. The accession of a united
Cyprus to the European Union would benefit all Cypriot citizens and promote civil peace
and reconciliation. It would also contribute to the overall stability in the region. The EU
moreover  foresees  an  amount  of  €206  million  for  the  northern  part  of  the  island  in  the
event of a settlement.

In  all  acceding  countries  except  Cyprus  accession  to  the  EU  has  been  the  subject  of  a
referendum.  The  referendums  have  demonstrated  clear  public  support  for  accession,
putting the seal of popular approval on the results of the  negotiations: turnout  has  been
sufficient  in  all  countries  to  produce  valid  referendum  results  with  very  convincing

1 

Documents concerning the accession, including the Accession Treaty, were published in the Official
Journal (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 1), accessible on the internet at the following address:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex.

5

                                                
majorities.  An  overview  of  referendums  and  ratification  is  given  in  Annex  1:
Referendums and ratifications of the 2003 Accession Treaty.

Governments  of  current  and  acceding  Member  States  have  undertaken  comprehensive
information campaigns to inform their citizens about enlargement,  while  most acceding
intensive  pre-referendum  campaigns.  The
countries  also  established  dedicated, 
Commission  has  provided  practical  and  financial  assistance  over  many  years  in  the
framework of its communication strategy for enlargement. Up to €30 million per year has
been  committed  to  inform  people,  via  dedicated  information  centres,  partnerships,
seminars,  brochures,  co-operation  with  media,  web-sites,  on 
the  process  and
consequences  of  enlargement.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  support  information
efforts on enlargement with a view to the completion of the ratification process.

As the long-awaited date of accession approaches, the ten acceding countries must make
their final preparations to join the EU in the best possible  conditions.  For that  purpose,
the  Commission  presents  its  evaluation,  separately  from  the  present  document,  in  a
Comprehensive Monitoring Report.

Special  information  and  consultation  procedures  have  been  put  in  place  to  ensure  the
involvement of the acceding countries’ representatives in the development of new acquis
since  the  conclusion  of  the  accession  negotiations.  Among  other  things,  as  from  the
signature  of  the  Accession  Treaty,  the  acceding  countries  have  participated  as  “active
observers”  in  Council  bodies,  as  well  as  in  committees  presided  over  by  the
Commission. The acceding countries have the right to express their views on the various
proposals under discussion, but not to vote. Furthermore, appointed deputies of acceding
countries’ national parliaments have observer status in the European Parliament.

The acceding and current candidate countries participated in the discussion on the future
of Europe within  the European Convention, which concluded its work  with a proposal
for  a  Treaty  establishing  a  Constitution  for  Europe  submitted  to  the  European  Council
with a view to the Intergovernmental Conference on the future institutional architecture
of  the  Union.  The  ten  acceding  countries  participate  fully  in  the  Intergovernmental
Conference  launched  on  4  October  2003,  and  the  new  Treaty  is  intended  to  be  signed
after their accession. As candidate countries for accession Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey
participate as observers in the Intergovernmental Conference.

Like many other agreements the Union has with third countries, the Europe Agreements
with  Bulgaria  and  Romania,  and  the  Association  Agreement  with  Turkey,  need  to  be
adapted to take account of enlargement. The Commission will negotiate these adaptations
with  Bulgaria,  Romania  and  Turkey  on  the  basis  of  a  mandate  from  the  Council.  The
Protocols  to  the  Agreements  reflecting  the  outcome  of  these  negotiations  should  be
concluded as  soon  as  possible  after  accession,  using  a  simplified  procedure  foreseen  in
the  Accession  Treaty.  One  of  the  main  areas  to  be  adapted  in  the  agreements  with
Bulgaria  and  Romania  are  the  agricultural  trade  concessions,  both  as  regards  processed
and non-processed products. Concessions have been improved twice in recent years as a
result of the “double zero” and “double profit” negotiations. To continue this process of
gradual  market  integration  in  the  pre-accession  period,  the  Commission  envisages  a
further round of trade liberalisation. Another area to be developed in the coming period is
the  mutual  recognition  of  conformity  assessment,  through  Protocols  on  European
Conformity Assessment.

6

Administrative  preparations  of  the  EU  institutions  for  enlargement  are  ongoing,  to
ensure  that  all  necessary  measures  are  in  place  by  the  date  of  accession.  This  includes
inter  alia  assessments  of  staffing  needs  and  recruitment  preparations,  provision  of
translating and interpreting in additional languages, preparation of buildings, and schools.
The  Commission  identified  in  particular  its  additional  human  resource  needs,  to  be
phased in from 2004 and completed by around 2008.2 The European Personnel Selection
Office became operational in January 2003 and the first competitions for staff from the
acceding  countries  were  launched  in  the  first  half  of  2003.  The  Commission  has  set
indicative recruitment targets over a seven-year transitional period. Moreover, in order to
meet  increased human resource  needs  prior  to  accession  in  certain  policy  areas  such  as
agriculture, structural policies and the linguistic services, up to 500 non-permanent posts
were made available already in 2003. These temporary members of staff, mostly nationals
from  acceding  countries,  have  now  begun  to  take  up  their  posts  in  the  Commission
services.

The Commission’s Delegations in the new Member States will be transformed into Press
and Representation Offices as of 1 May 2004 and will concentrate on their new role of
providing information to citizens and media in their host Member State. Nevertheless, for
the  purpose  of  accompanying  the  phasing  out  of  pre-accession  assistance,  a  certain
number of specialised staff will be maintained as required for a limited transitory period.

On  20  February  2003,  Croatia  presented  its  application  for  accession  to  the  European
Union. At its meeting on 14 April 2003, the Council decided to implement the procedure
foreseen  under  Article  49  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union,  and  requested  the
Commission  to  submit  to  the  Council  its  opinion  on  this  application.  A  series  of
questions  was  transmitted  to  the  Croatian  authorities  in  July,  aimed  at  obtaining  an
accurate picture of the situation, to which the Croatian authorities replied in October. The
opinion of the Commission is under preparation and is expected to be delivered in spring
2004.

The Union has affirmed on many occasions that it does not wish enlargement to lead to
new  dividing  lines  in  Europe.  With  this  concern  in  mind,  the  Commission  adopted  in
March 2003 a Communication on a new framework for relations with our Eastern and
Southern  Neighbours3.  The  Commission  put  forward  an  ambitious  new  vision:  the
creation  of  an  enlarged  area  of  peace,  stability  and  prosperity  encompassing  the
neighbours  to  the  east  and  to  the  south  that  currently  do  not  have  a  perspective  of  EU
membership,  based  on  common  values  and  deep  integration.  In  return  for  concrete
progress in the implementation of political, economic and institutional reforms, the EU’s
neighbourhood is to benefit from the prospect of closer economic and political links with
the  EU.  The  Commission  proposed  to 
take  a  differentiated,  progressive,  and
benchmarked  approach  in  implementing  the  initiative,  and  to  develop  country-specific

2 

3 

See the Commission Communication  on  Activities  and  Human  Resources  of  the  Commission  in  the
Enlarged EU, 5 June 2002 (COM(2002) 311 final).
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Wider Europe -
Neighbourhood:  A  New  Framework  for  Relations  with  our  Eastern  and  Southern  Neighbours,  11
March  2003  (COM(2003)  104  final).  This  framework  applies  to  the  following  countries:  Russia,
Ukraine,  Moldova,  Belarus,  Algeria,  Egypt,  Israel,  Jordan,  Lebanon,  Libya,  Morocco,  Palestinian
Authority, Syria, Tunisia.

7

                                                
action  plans.  The  initiative  was  broadly  welcomed  by  both  the  Member  States  and  the
neighbouring countries.

In  July,  the  Commission  also  adopted  a  Communication  on  a  New  Neighbourhood
Instrument4. It charts the adaptations to the Community’s assistance in the border regions
to the new neighbourhood policy, based on a two step-approach: the initial  phase  up  to
2006  should  seek  pragmatic  and  dynamic  solutions  which  would  improve  current
cooperation between existing instruments and increase the effectiveness and visibility of
cross-border  and  regional  co-operation  on  the  basis  of  the  existing  legal  framework.  A
more far-reaching solution could then be considered at a later stage for the period from
2007 onwards, following an assessment of relevant legal and budgetary issues.

The Commission will continue to reflect and elaborate an overall methodology to put the
Wider Europe - Neighbourhood concept into practice. This includes a thorough review of
our  current  relationships  with  the  countries  concerned  and  the  preparation  of  the  first
action  plans.  Based  on  the  Thessaloniki  conclusions,  the  Commission  will  next  year
present to the Council a comprehensive report including proposals for concrete actions.

This  rest  of  this  report  concerns  the  three  candidate  countries  not  included  in  the
accessions taking place on 1 May 2004, i.e. Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The 2003
Regular  Reports  on  these  three  countries  present  a  detailed  analysis  of  their  progress
towards accession over the past twelve months. This progress is assessed by means of the
same  criteria  and  the  same  methodology  which  has  been  consistently  applied  to  all
candidates.  Pursuant  to  the  conclusions  of  the  Copenhagen  (1993)  and  Madrid  (1995)
European  Councils,  the  report  pays  attention  both  to  legislative  changes  and  to  their
administrative  capacity  to  implement  and  enforce  the  acquis.  The  Reports  show  that
Bulgaria,  Romania  and  Turkey  have  moved  forward  on  the  three  sets  of  criteria  –  the
political, economic  and acquis criteria  - established by  the  1993  Copenhagen  European
Council.

4 

Communication from the Commission - Paving the way for a New Neighbourhood Instrument, 1 July
2003 (COM(2003) 393 final).

8

                                                
B.  BRINGING BULGARIA AND ROMANIA INTO THE UNION

1.

Progress made by Bulgaria in meeting the membership criteria

Bulgaria continues  to fulfil  the Copenhagen  political  criteria.  Progress  was  made  with
the adoption of a programme and an action plan for the implementation of the strategy for
modernisation of the state administration, but sustained efforts will be necessary to fulfil
Bulgaria’s aim to have a qualified and efficient civil service in place in the medium term.
The overall  reform process  of  the  judiciary continued. In  particular, the amendments to
the Constitution regarding the status of magistrates represent an important step forward.
Corruption  remains  a  problem,  and  Bulgaria  should  maintain  concerted  efforts  to
implement measures in this respect.

Bulgaria  continues  to  respect  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms.  The  legal
framework  for  asylum,  child  protection,  equal  opportunities  and  anti-discrimination
policy  improved  considerably.  However,  the  living  conditions  of  children  and  mentally
disabled  placed  in  institutions  have  not  improved.  Further  efforts  are  also  necessary  to
combat  degrading  treatment  by  the  police  and  trafficking  in  human  beings.  The  new
action plan for implementing the framework programme for the integration of Roma into
society represents a positive step, but determined and sustained efforts are needed to fight
discriminatory  attitudes  and  behaviour.  An  overview  of  the  human  rights  conventions
ratified by Bulgaria can be found in Annex 3: Human rights conventions ratified by the
candidate countries.

As regards the economic criteria, Bulgaria is a functioning market economy. It should be
able  to  cope  with  competitive  pressure  and  market  forces  within  the  Union  in  the  near
term, provided that it continues implementing its reform programme to remove remaining
difficulties.

The  Bulgarian  economy  has  achieved  a  high  degree  of  stability  and  has  made  good
progress  in  structural  reforms.  This  ensures  working  market  mechanisms  and  an
increasingly  efficient  allocation  of  resources.  However,  the  flexibility  of  product  and
labour  markets  should  be  further  enhanced.  In  particular,  the  efficiency  of  the
administrative and the judicial system should be improved to provide a more stable and
predictable  framework  for  economic  agents.  The  privatisation  programme  needs  to  be
completed  and  regulations  and  administrative  procedures  affecting  enterprises  further
streamlined. A selection of statistical indicators can be found in Annex 6: Main statistical
indicators (2002).

Over  the  past  year,  Bulgaria  has  in  most  areas  continued  to  make  good  progress  in
adopting  the  acquis  and  is  on  track  to  complete  the  required  legislative  transposition
before the planned date of accession if the current pace of progress is maintained. Details
on progress in the different chapters of the acquis can be found in the conclusions of the
Regular Report on Bulgaria.

Bulgaria needs to continue to make sustained efforts to develop sufficient administrative
and  judicial  capacity  to  implement  and  enforce  the  acquis.  As  well  as  continuing
horizontal  reform  of  the  public  administration,  it  needs  to  focus  in  particular  on
developing the capacity to be part of the internal market and to apply the acquis in areas

9

such  as  agriculture,  environment  and  regional  policy.  Continued  efforts  are  required  to
establish  the  necessary  administrative  capacity  to  ensure  the  sound  and  efficient
management of EU funds.

The  full  conclusions  of  the  Regular  Report  on  Bulgaria  can  be  found  in  Annex  2:
Conclusions of the Regular Reports on Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

2.

Progress made by Romania in meeting the membership criteria

Romania continues to fulfil the political criteria. A number of positive initiatives have
been  launched  over  the  last  year  to  reform  the  public  administration  and  the  judiciary.
Romania needs to focus attention on the effective implementation of these measures and
should  build  further  on  these  efforts  to  address  cumbersome  administrative  procedures,
limited transparency and a limited capacity for policy execution. It needs to develop and
implement  a  strategy  to  address  the  reform  of  the  policy  and  legislative  process.
Corruption in Romania continues to be widespread. A number of high-profile measures
were taken, but substantially increased efforts are needed.

Romania  continues  to  respect  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms,  and  has  made
good  progress  especially  as  regards  anti-discrimination,  child  protection  and  national
minorities.  The  implementation  of  the  Roma  Strategy  needs  to  continue.  Reforms  in  a
number  of  other  areas  are  being  prepared,  but  the  challenge  for  the  future  will  be  the
effective  implementation  of  these  initiatives.  An  overview  of  the  human  rights
conventions  ratified  by  Romania  can  be  found  in  Annex  3:  Human  rights  conventions
ratified by the candidate countries.

As  regards  the  economic  criteria,  Romania  can  be  considered  as  a  functioning  market
economy once the good progress made has continued decisively. In addition, a vigorous
and sustained implementation of its structural reform programme is required in order for
Romania to be able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union
in the near term.

Further  progress  towards  macroeconomic  stability  was  achieved,  privatisation  and
restructuring  of  public  enterprises  were  accelerated  and  market  entry  and  exit
mechanisms were improved. However, fiscal and wage policies have to remain prudent,
expenditure  reform  has  to  be  advanced  and  tax  compliance  improved.  As  a  priority,
enterprise  financial  discipline  must  be  strengthened,  in  particular  by  addressing  the
continued  accumulation  of  arrears.  The  restructuring  and  privatisation  in  key  sectors,
such  as  energy,  mining  and  transport,  needs  to  be  advanced.  A  selection  of  statistical
indicators can be found in Annex 6: Main statistical indicators (2002).

Romania  has  made  steady  progress  with  the  adoption  of  the  acquis  and  is  on  track  to
transpose  the  required  legislation  before  the  planned  date  of  accession  provided  the
current pace of progress is maintained. Weaknesses in the legislative process mean that
the quality of legislation transposed is uneven and in some cases revisions will be needed
before  laws  can  be  implemented.  Details  on  progress  in  the  different  chapters  of  the
acquis can be found in the conclusions of the Regular Report on Romania.

10

In  a  number  of  important  sectors,  there  has  been  a  continued  gap  between  progress  in
legal  transposition  and  the  limited  overall  capacity  of  the  public  administration  to
implement and enforce the newly adopted legislation. This represents a major constraint
on  Romania’s  accession  preparations  and  to  address  this  issue  will  require  a
comprehensive,  structural  reform  of  both  the  public  administration  and  the  judicial
system.  These  concerns  extend  beyond  adoption  of  the  acquis  and  also  apply  to  the
management  of  EU  financial  assistance.  Progress  in  establishing  the  new  institutional
structures  required  by  the  acquis  has  continued  although  results  to  date  have  been
uneven.

The  full  conclusions  of  the  Regular  Report  on  Romania  can  be  found  in  Annex  2:
Conclusions of the Regular Reports on Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

3.

Pre-accession strategy for Bulgaria and Romania

As recommended in last year’s Strategy Paper, the Council endorsed detailed roadmaps
and adopted revised Accession Partnerships for Bulgaria and Romania. These Accession
Partnerships are based on the findings of the 2002 Regular Reports and draw up a list of
concrete tasks which must be undertaken in order to continue and complete preparations
for EU membership. The purpose of the Accession Partnerships is to set out in a single
framework  the  priority  areas  for  further  work  identified  in  the  Commission’s  Regular
Report,  the  financial  means  available  to  help  candidate  countries  implement  these
priorities, and the conditions which will apply to this assistance.

Institution  building,  together  with  investment  in  acquis-related  development,  should
continue to be the principal focus of Community assistance, in particular under the Phare
programme. In this context, peer review and twinning are the instruments of choice and
considerable use is being made of them (see the tables in Annex 4: Twinning projects and
peer reviews). This should be further sustained.

The second major aim of Community assistance remains the promotion of economic and
social cohesion, with a clear focus on preparing Bulgarian and Romanian administrations
and beneficiaries for future Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund actions.

The  accession  roadmaps  for  Bulgaria  and  Romania,  proposed  by  the  Commission  and
endorsed  by  the  Copenhagen  European  Council,  provide  for  considerably  increased
financial  assistance  in  the  period  2004-2006  to  both  countries  (€1 360  million  in  2004,
€1 502  million  in  2005  and  €1 650  million  in  2006).  This  increase,  which  was
subsequently incorporated into the modification of the Financial Perspective 2000-2006,
decided  by  the  budgetary  authorities,  is  intended  to  support  Bulgaria  and  Romania  in
taking the remaining steps necessary to meet the criteria for membership and to continue
to prepare for participation in the Structural Funds.

The  increased  assistance  will  be  conditional  on  making  satisfactory  progress  in
implementing  the  roadmap  and  Accession  Partnership  priorities  and  on  significant
improvements  in  the  countries’  capacity  to  manage  and  use  funds  effectively.
Preparations  should  continue  to  implement  extended  decentralisation  (EDIS)  for  Phare
and  ISPA  by  the  end  of  2004.  Furthermore,  Bulgaria  and  Romania  should  ensure  that
effective  structures  exist  to  prevent,  detect  and  punish  possible  instances  of  fraud  and
corruption.

11

4.

A framework for finalising the negotiations

4.1

Towards the conclusion of negotiations

Bulgaria and Romania have set 2007 as their target date for accession. This date has now
become  a  common  objective  of  the  Union  since  the  Copenhagen  European  Council  in
December  2002,  depending  on  further  progress  in  complying  with  the  membership
criteria. The Union’s stated objective to welcome Bulgaria and Romania as members in
2007  must  remain  the  firm  focus  of  these  two  countries’  preparations  and  the
Commission will support them in achieving this goal.

The accession negotiations have made steady progress to date. All acquis chapters have
been  opened  with  Bulgaria  and  Romania.  Out  of  the  31  negotiating  chapters,  26  have
been provisionally closed with Bulgaria and 20 with Romania. An overview of the state
of play in the negotiations is given in the table in Annex 5: State of play of negotiations.

The  negotiations  must  advance  to  their  overall  conclusion  on  the  basis  of  the  existing
principles  set  at  the  beginning  of  the  negotiations.  As  declared  by  the  Thessaloniki
European  Council,  negotiations  “will  continue  on  the  same  basis  and  principles  that
applied to the ten acceding states”.

The basic principle of the negotiations is that each country progresses on the basis of its
own merits. On this basis, the pace of the negotiations will, as in the past, be determined
principally  by  progress  on  the  ground:  progress  by  the  negotiating  countries  in
incorporating the acquis into their legislation and in building the capacity to implement
and  enforce  it  effectively.  Measuring  this  progress  is  precisely  the  purpose  of  the
Commission’s  Regular  Reports  which  serve  as  a  basis  to  decide  on  the  conduct  of
negotiations. The Commission will continue to monitor the fulfilment of the negotiating
countries’  commitments.  Progress  in  the  negotiations  will  continue  to  go  hand  in  hand
with progress on the ground.

In  addition,  the  actual  progress  in  the  negotiations  and  the  provisional  closure  of
negotiating  chapters  depends  on  all  parties  making  the  necessary  contributions.  This
implies,  for  the  candidate  countries,  the  submission  of  substantive  position  papers
reflecting progress in the transposition and implementation capacity over the period since
the previous round of negotiations in each chapter, and  credible  commitments  for  what
remains  to  be  done.  For  its  part,  the  Commission  will  continue  to  make  the  necessary
proposals  for  chapters  remaining  open  to  permit  the  Union  to  formulate  common
positions to be presented to the candidates.

In order for accession to take place in 2007, a common Accession Treaty for Bulgaria and
Romania should be signed at the latest towards the end of 2005, which would require that
the  negotiations  be  finalised  in  due  time  before  that.  This  is  to  be  preceded  by  the
Commission’s  final  recommendation  on  the  readiness  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  for
accession. The Thessaloniki European Council supported Bulgaria and Romania in their
efforts to achieve the objective of concluding negotiations in 2004, inviting them to step
up  their  preparations  on  the  ground.  Meeting  this  objective  will  depend  on  the  real
progress made on the ground and in the negotiating process on the basis of each country’s
own merits.

12

4.2

Outline for a financial framework

As was the case for the negotiations with the ten acceding countries in 2002, one of the
first and principal tasks in preparing the ground for the completion of negotiations is to
establish  a  coherent  financial  framework.  This  will  open  the  way  to  finalising
negotiations  in  the  chapters  on  agriculture  and  regional  policy  which  have  important
budgetary  implications  and  which  are  related  to  the  chapter  on  financial  and  budgetary
provisions.

In  the  case  of  the  acceding  countries,  the  financial  package  for  accession  was  largely
determined  by  the  financial  framework  for  the  period  2000-2006  agreed  at  the  Berlin
European Council in March 1999. In the case of Bulgaria and Romania, there is not yet
such an overall financial framework in which to place the budgetary implications of their
accession. However, the European Council meeting in Thessaloniki in June declared that
“discussions  or  agreement  on  future  policy  reforms,  or  the  new  financial  perspective,
shall  neither  impede  the  pursuit  and  conclusion  of  accession  negotiations  nor  be
prejudged by the outcome of these negotiations”.

The Commission’s proposals will therefore be based on the existing acquis as well as on
the  principles  and  methodology  underlying  the  financial  framework  developed  for  the
negotiations with the ten acceding countries. In particular:

–  In the field of agriculture,  the  objective of gradually  introducing direct payments  for
farmers  in  the  new  Member  States  over  a  period  of  10  years  starting  at  25%  of  the
level then applicable to the EU-15, should be maintained. The negotiating position of
the EU should reflect the reform of the common agricultural policy which has taken
place in the meantime. The rural development envelope for Bulgaria and Romania will
be  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  same  criteria  as  those  used  for  dividing  the  rural
development  envelope  among  the  ten  acceding  countries.  The  additional  market-
related expenditure resulting from the accession of Bulgaria and Romania will need to
be added to the total EU-25 ceiling for Heading 1.A.5

–  The  structural  actions  should  be  based  on  a  share  of  one  third  of  the  funds  for  the
cohesion fund and on an overall envelope fixed following a similar approach as for the
ten acceding countries, inter alia taking into account the progressive phasing-in of the
structural  funds  in  order  to  reflect  the  progressive  increase  of  absorption  capacity  in
these  countries.  This  includes  the  capping  of  transfers  to  4%  of  expected  gross
national income in any given year. Once this overall envelope is agreed, the individual
amounts  per  country  and  per  policy  will  be  determined  largely  on  the  basis  of  the
methodology  applied  for  current  Member  States  for  the  period  2000-2006.  These
would be indicative allocations, liable to change depending on the outcome of policy
reform, without changing the reserved total financial envelope.

5 

As  laid  down  in  the  Decision  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the  Member  States,
meeting within the Council, of 18 November 2002.

13

                                                
–  In  addition  to  providing  for  full  participation  by  Bulgaria  and  Romania  in  the
Community’s  internal  policies,  additional  funds  should  be  allocated  for  institution
building  similar  to  those  agreed  for  the  acceding  countries  (in  particular,  the
“transition facility”).

–  Bulgaria  and  Romania  should  not  find  themselves  in  a  net  budgetary  position  on
accession  which  is  worse  in  comparison  with  their  situation  in  the  year  before
accession as beneficiaries of pre-accession funds.

–  Funds  should  be  allocated 

to  deal  with  specific  problems,  notably 

the

decommissioning of installations at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

The  continuity  implied  in  this  approach  is  fair  to  both  the  present  and  future  acceding
countries and is justified taking into account the need to avoid prejudging  future  policy
reforms  and  the  future  overall  financial  perspective.  Given  that  this  proposal  will  be
based on the same principles and methodology as applied for the ten acceding countries,
the negotiations could be considerably simplified.

Although  it  would  be  desirable  from  the  point  of  view  of  enlargement  that  the  new
overall financial  perspective  for  the Union starting in  2007  preserves  this  continuity,  at
least as a starting point, it cannot be excluded that the financial framework for Bulgaria
and  Romania  will  need  to  be  adapted  in  important  respects  to  reflect  future  policy
reforms or  fundamental changes  to the overall financial perspective  as  compared  to  the
current  perspective.  It  is  therefore  prudent  and  appropriate  to  limit  the  financial
framework  for  Bulgaria  and  Romania  in  time  to  a  period  of  three  years  from  their
accession. This is in fact the same period as was covered by the negotiations with the ten
acceding  countries,  which  was  limited  to  the  current  financial  perspective  expiring  in
2006.

If  the  financial  framework  for  the  accession  of  Bulgaria  and  Romania  were  to  require
adaptation  after  the  conclusion  of  the  negotiations,  a  procedure  would  need  to  be
available to involve these countries as appropriate in this decision-making. If necessary,
this procedure should be included in the Accession Treaty.

The Commission will ensure that the Council can debate these issues, at the beginning of
2004, in a common financial framework for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. On
this  basis,  the  Commission  will  then  propose  to  the  Council  common  negotiation
positions in the fields of agriculture, regional policy and budgetary issues in accordance
with the approach set out above.

14

C.  TURKEY IN THE ENLARGEMENT PROCESS – PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

1.

Progress made by Turkey in meeting the membership criteria

The European Council in Copenhagen in December 2002 recalled its decision in 1999 in
Helsinki that Turkey is a “candidate state destined to join the Union on the basis of the
same  criteria  as  applied  to  the  other  candidate  States”.  It  strongly  welcomed  “the
important  steps  taken  by  Turkey  towards  meeting  the  Copenhagen  criteria”  and
encouraged  it  to  pursue  the  reform  process  energetically.  It  concluded  that  “if  the
European  Council  in  December  2004,  on  the  basis  of  a  report  and  a  recommendation
from the Commission, decides  that  Turkey  fulfils  the  Copenhagen  political  criteria,  the
European Union will open accession negotiations with Turkey without delay”.

At  its  meeting  in  Thessaloniki  in  June  2003,  the  European  Council  welcomed  “the
commitment of the Turkish government to carry forward the reform process, in particular
the remaining legislative work by the end of 2003”, and supported its “on-going efforts
made  in  order  to  fulfil  the  Copenhagen  political  criteria  for  opening  accession
negotiations with the Union.”

Over the past year the Turkish government has shown great determination in accelerating
the pace of legislative reforms in the areas covered by the political criteria. It has also
taken important steps to ensure their effective implementation, in order to allow Turkish
citizens  to  enjoy  fundamental  freedoms  and  human  rights  in  line  with  European
standards.  These  efforts  constitute  significant  progress  towards  achieving  compliance
with the Copenhagen political criteria.

Some  of  the  reforms  impinge  upon  sensitive  issues,  such  as  freedom  of  expression,
freedom  of  peaceful  assembly,  cultural  rights  and  civilian  control  of  the  military,  and
demonstrate  the  determination  of  the  Turkish  government  to  move  ahead.  Turkey  has
ratified two major UN Covenants on Civil and Political rights  as  well as  on Social and
economic rights. Several prisoners sentenced for non violent expression of opinion have
been released.  The legislation  on  combating  torture  has  been  considerably  strengthened
and  incommunicado  detention  has  been  abolished.  Many  priorities  under  the  political
criteria in the revised Accession Partnership have been addressed.

However, in spite of the determination of the government, the Commission considers that
Turkey does not yet fully meet the Copenhagen political criteria. A clear framework for
guaranteeing political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights is not fully established,
and more efforts are needed to enhance the coherence of legal provisions and practice.

As regards the legislative and regulatory framework, particular attention should be given
to the strengthening of the independence and the functioning of the judiciary, the overall
framework  for  the  exercise  of  fundamental  freedoms  (association,  expression  and
religion),  further  alignment  of  civil-military  relations  with  European  practice  and  the
situation  in  the  Southeast.  Cultural  rights  should  be  guaranteed  for  all  Turkish  citizens
regardless of their origin.

15

Implementation of the reforms has to be strengthened, which requires that all institutions
and  persons  involved  accept  the  spirit  of  the  reforms.  Responsibility  for  enforcing
reformed  legislation  related  to  fundamental  freedoms,  provisions  for  re-trial,  respect  of
European  Court  of  Human  Rights  judgements,  and  measures  to  combat  torture,  lies
largely with judges and prosecutors. On the other hand, executive bodies at all levels are
also  responsible  for  implementation  of  the  political  reforms.  In  a  number  of  cases,  for
example in relation to cultural rights and freedom of religion, such bodies have narrowed
the  scope  of  the  reforms  by  establishing  restrictive  conditions,  hindering  the  objectives
initially  pursued.  The  setting  up  by  the  government  of  a  Reform  Monitoring  Group  in
order to ensure the effective implementation of the reforms and to overcome bureaucratic
resistance is encouraging in this respect.

The far-reaching changes to the Turkish political and legal system over the past year are
part of a longer-term historical process, and the full benefit of these reforms will accrue
to  the  Turkish  people  over  a  number  of  years.  It  will  take  time  before  the  spirit  of  the
reforms is fully reflected in the attitudes of executive and judicial bodies, at all levels and
throughout the country, ensuring a track record of effective implementation. Nonetheless,
there are already clear signs of improvement in terms of enjoyment of human rights and
basic  freedoms.  It  is,  however,  of  great  concern  that  Turkey  has  not  executed  many
judgements of the ECtHR, by means of ensuring payment of just satisfaction or reversing
decisions made in contravention of the ECHR.

The  Commission  recalls  that  efforts  to  resolve  the  Cyprus  problem  form  part  of  the
enhanced  political  dialogue  between  the  European  Union  and  Turkey.  As  repeatedly
stressed  by  the  European  Council,  Turkey,  together  with  all  parties  concerned,  has  a
decisive  interest  in  providing  determined  support  for  efforts  towards  a  comprehensive
settlement  of  the  Cyprus  problem.  The  Commission  considers  that  there  are  favourable
conditions for the two communities  to reach  a  comprehensive  settlement  of  the  Cyprus
problem before Cyprus’ accession to the EU on 1 May 2004. The absence of a settlement
could become a serious obstacle to Turkey’s EU aspirations.

The  Commission  also  recalls  the  Helsinki  European  Council  conclusions  urging
candidate  countries  to  make  every  effort  to  resolve  any  outstanding  border  dispute  and
other  related  issues  on  the  basis  of  the  principle  of  peaceful  settlement  of  disputes  in
accordance with the United Nations Charter.

As regards the economic criteria, Turkey has significantly improved the functioning of
its  market  economy,  while  macroeconomic  imbalances  remain.  Further  decisive  steps
towards  macroeconomic  stability  and  structural  reforms  will  also  enhance  the  Turkish
capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.

Economic  stability  has  increased  with  the  continuation  of  the  disinflation  process,  and
structural reforms and the modernisation of Turkey’s market regulations and institutions
have advanced. The disinflation and reform process should be maintained,  in  particular
by  maintaining  fiscal  discipline,  by  restructuring  and  further  privatising  the  banking
sector  and  by  deregulating  markets.  In  order  to  enhance  the  growth  potential  of  the
economy,  the  inflow  of  foreign  direct  investment  should  be  encouraged  by  removing
remaining  barriers.  A  selection  of  statistical  indicators  can  be  found  in  Annex  6:  Main
statistical indicators (2002).

16

Turkey’s alignment with the acquis has progressed in most areas but remains at an early
stage  for  many  chapters.  It  is  most  advanced  in  chapters  related  to  the  EC-Turkey
Customs Union but in this respect Turkey is not fully meeting its obligations. Alignment
is  also  more  advanced  in  areas  where  other  international  obligations  exist  which  are
similar to the acquis. Further legislative work is required in all areas, and Turkey should
focus  on  implementing  its  National  Programme  for  the  Adoption  of  the  Acquis,  in  line
with  the  Accession  Partnership  priorities,  more  consistently  across  all  chapters.  Also,
new  legislation  should  not  move  away  from  the  acquis.  Details  on  progress  in  the
different chapters of the acquis can be found in the conclusions of the Regular Report on
Turkey.

In many fields implementation is weak. Administrative capacity in different areas needs
to be strengthened to ensure that the acquis is implemented and enforced effectively. In
some cases, administrative reform should entail the establishment of new structures, for
example in the field of state aid and regional development. Where new regulatory bodies
have  been  set  up,  their  autonomy  should  be  assured  and  they  should  be  provided  with
sufficient staff and financial resources.

The  full  conclusions  of  the  Regular  Report  on  Turkey  can  be  found  in  Annex  2:
Conclusions of the Regular Reports on Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

2.

Pre-accession strategy for Turkey

Over the past twelve months the European Union has significantly strengthened the pre-
accession strategy for Turkey. The Commission will continue to implement this strategy
in its different  areas, particularly  in view of  the  report  and  recommendation  that  it  will
present next year on Turkey.

A  revised  Accession  Partnership  was  adopted  by  the  Council  on  19  May  2003.  Its
purpose is to assist the Turkish authorities in their efforts to meet the  accession criteria
with particular emphasis on the political criteria. It also forms the basis for programming
pre-accession assistance from Community funds.

The enhanced political dialogue has continued intensively  under  the Danish, Greek and
Italian  Presidencies.  Among  the  items  discussed  are  the  political  reforms  in  Turkey,
human  rights,  Cyprus,  and  the  peaceful  settlement  of  disputes,  as  well  as  wider
international  issues.  As  from  2003  the  Commission  is  supplementing  the  enhanced
political  dialogue  with  regular  detailed  consultations  with  the  Turkish  authorities  on
Turkey’s progress in complying with the political criteria. This approach will be further
developed in  order  to  ensure  a  better  mutual  understanding  of  the  issues  involved.  The
enhanced  economic  dialogue  between  the  EU  and  Turkey  covering  issues  of
macroeconomic  performance  and  stability  and  economic  reforms  is  being  pursued
intensively.

The process of legislative scrutiny, carried out in the sub-committees of the Association
Agreement,  is  being  supplemented  by  TAIEX  seminars  and  technical  meetings  or
workshops on specific subjects.

17

The negotiations for the extension of the EC-Turkey Customs Union to services, and the
mutual  opening  of  public  procurement  markets,  are  continuing  with  a  view  to  their
finalisation in 2004.

In 2003 Turkey has started  to participate in the  European  Environment Agency and the
following  Community  programmes:  Enterprise  and  Entrepreneurship,  Gender  Equality,
Combating Discrimination, Combating Social Exclusion, Incentive Measures in the field
of  Employment,  and  the  Sixth  Framework  Programme  on  Research.  Preparations  for
participation  in  a  number  of  other  programmes,  including  full  participation  in  the
educational programmes in 2004, are under way.

In  April  2003  agreement  was  reached  between  the  European  Parliament,  Council  and
Commission to include Turkey in the pre-accession heading of the financial perspectives
and  to  provide  substantially  increased  financial  assistance  for  the  period  2004-2006,
amounting  to  €1 050  million  over  the  three  years.  Particular  attention  will  be  paid  to
providing assistance to both government and non-governmental bodies in areas related to
the political criteria.

Overall the impact of Community assistance to Turkey is increasingly positive. As from
October 2003 implementation of pre-accession financial assistance programmes has been
devolved  to  the  Turkish  authorities  under  the  “Decentralised  Implementation  System”
(DIS). Meanwhile the Commission continues to take responsibility for a large number of
on-going  projects.  The  backlog  in  commitments  of  EU  finance  for  Turkey  has  been
further  reduced  in  2003.  The  Commission  will  verify  whether  Turkey  is  meeting  its
obligations under DIS and continue to strengthen its Representation in Turkey to ensure
the continued success of its financial co-operation programmes.

18

D.  CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In the light of the above, the European Commission’s conclusions and recommendations
are the following:

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

This year’s Regular Reports show that the Bulgaria and Romania have continued
to  make  significant  progress  over  the  last  year  in  implementing  the  accession
criteria. They continue to fulfil the political criteria and are closer to fulfilling the
economic and acquis criteria.

Accession  negotiations  with  Bulgaria  and  Romania  will  continue  on  the  same
basis and principles that applied to the ten acceding states, in particular the own
merits  principle.  As  in  the  past,  the  pace  of  the  negotiations  will  be  determined
principally  by  progress  made  by  the  negotiating  countries  in  incorporating  the
acquis into their legislation and in building the capacity to implement and enforce
it  effectively.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  fulfilment  of  the
negotiating countries’ commitments.

The Union’s stated objective is to welcome Bulgaria and Romania as members in
2007, depending on further progress in complying with  the  membership  criteria.
This  objective  must  remain  the  firm  focus  of  these  two  countries’  preparations
and  the  Commission  will  support  them  in  achieving  this  goal.  In  order  for
accession  to  take  place  in  2007,  a  common  Accession  Treaty  for  Bulgaria  and
Romania  should  be  signed  at  the  latest  towards  the  end  of  2005,  which  would
require  that  the  negotiations  be  finalised  in  due  time  before  that.  This  is  to  be
preceded by the Commission’s final recommendation on the readiness of Bulgaria
and  Romania  for  accession.  The  Thessaloniki  European  Council  supported
Bulgaria  and  Romania  in  their  efforts  to  achieve  the  objective  of  concluding
negotiations  in  2004,  inviting  them  to  step  up  their  preparations  on  the  ground.
Meeting this objective will depend on the real progress made on the ground and in
the negotiating process on the basis of each country’s own merits.

The  Commission  will  present  to  the  Council,  at  the  beginning  of  2004,  a  three-
year common financial framework for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in
order  to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  completion  of  negotiations.  In  line  with  the
conclusions  of  the  Thessaloniki  European  Council,  discussions  or  agreement  on
future policy  reforms,  or  the  new  financial  perspective,  shall  neither  impede  the
pursuit and conclusion of accession negotiations nor be prejudged by the outcome
of these negotiations. The Commission considers that in order to ensure fairness
vis-à-vis  both  present  and  future  acceding  countries  and  to  simplify  the
negotiations,  this  financial  framework  should  be  based  on  the  principles  and
methodology developed for the negotiations with the ten acceding countries. On
this basis, the Commission will then propose to the Council common negotiation
positions  dealing  with  the  financial  implications  in  the  fields  of  agriculture,
regional policy and budgetary issues.

19

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

Over  the  past  year,  by  accelerating  the  pace  of  reforms,  Turkey  has  made
determined  efforts  and  significant  progress  towards  achieving  compliance  with
the  Copenhagen  political  criteria  and  has  made  considerable  progress  towards
meeting  the  economic  criteria.  Turkey  has  also  continued  progress  towards
meeting  the  acquis  criteria,  although  much  remains  to  be  done  in  many  areas.
Many  priorities  under  the  political  criteria  in  the  revised  Accession  Partnership
have  been  addressed.  However,  further  efforts  are  needed.  This  concerns  in
particular  the  strengthening  of  the  independence  and  the  functioning  of  the
judiciary,  the  overall  framework  for  the  exercise  of  fundamental  freedoms
(association,  expression  and  religion),  the  further  alignment  of  civil-military
relations with European practice, the situation in the Southeast and cultural rights.
Turkey should ensure full and effective implementation of reforms to ensure that
Turkish  citizens  can  enjoy  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms  in  line  with
European standards.

The  Commission  will  next  year  assess  the  progress  made  by  Turkey  towards
meeting the accession criteria as requested by the Copenhagen European Council.
The  Commission  will  issue  a  report  and  a  recommendation  before  the  end  of
October  2004  on  whether  Turkey  fulfils  the  Copenhagen  political  criteria.  This
should allow the European Council to decide, at  its  meeting  in  December  2004,
on the possible opening of accession negotiations with Turkey.

As  regards  Cyprus  the  European  Council  has  repeatedly  underlined  its  strong
preference for accession by a united Cyprus. The Commission considers that there
are  favourable  conditions  for  the  two  communities  to  reach  a  comprehensive
settlement of the Cyprus problem before Cyprus’ accession to the EU on 1  May
2004.  To  this  end  the  EU  should  reiterate  its  call  to  all  parties  concerned,  in
particular Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot  leadership,  to resume  the talks on  the
basis of the UN Secretary General’s proposal. The absence of a settlement could
become a serious obstacle to Turkey’s EU aspirations. The Thessaloniki European
Council stated the Union’s willingness to accommodate the terms of a settlement
in line with the principles on which the EU is founded. The Commission is ready
to assist in finding a speedy solution.

20

ANNEXES

21

ANNEX 1: REFERENDUMS AND RATIFICATIONS OF THE 2003 ACCESSION TREATY

(as at end of October 2003)

n
o
i
t
a
c
i
f
i
t
a
R

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

m
u
d
n
e
r
e
f
e
R

–
YES

–
–
YES

–
–
–
–
–
–
YES

YES

–
YES

Belgium

Czech Republic

Denmark

Germany

Estonia

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Cyprus

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Hungary

Malta

YES

(cid:1)

Netherlands

Austria

Poland

Portugal

Slovenia

Slovakia

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

(cid:1)

–
–
YES

–
YES

YES

(cid:1)

–
–
–

s
t
n
e
m
m
o
C

Ratification notification pending

Referendum 13-14 June 2003 (Yes: 77.33 %; No: 22.67 %;
turnout: 55.21 %); ratification notification pending
Ratification notified 11 June 2003

Ratification notification pending

Referendum  14  September  2003  (Yes:  66.92 %;  No:
33.08 %; turnout: 63.9 %); ratification notification pending
Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Ratification notified 6 August 2003

Referendum 20 September 2003 (Yes: 66.69%; No: 32.3%;
turnout: 72.53%); ratification notification pending
Referendum  10-11  May  2003  (Yes:  91.04 %;  No:  8.96 %;
turnout: 63.3 %); ratification notified 10 October 2003
Ratification notification pending

Referendum  12  April  2003  (Yes: 83.76 %;  No:  16.24 %;
turnout: 45.62 %); ratification notification pending
Referendum  8  March  2003  (Yes:  53.65 %;  No:  46.35 %;
turnout: 91 %); ratification notified 29 July 2003
Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Referendum  7-8  June  2003  (Yes:  77.45 %;  No:  22.55 %:
turnout: 58.85 %); ratification notified 5 August 2003
Ratification notification pending

Referendum  23  March  2003  (Yes:  89.61 %;  No:  10.39 %;
turnout: 60.29 %); ratification notification pending
Referendum  16-17  May  2003  (Yes:  92.46 %;  No:  6.20 %;
turnout: 52.15 %); ratification notified 9 October 2003
Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

Ratification notification pending

22

ANNEX  2:  CONCLUSIONS  OF  THE  REGULAR  REPORTS  ON  BULGARIA,  ROMANIA  AND
TURKEY

Bulgaria

Bulgaria continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria.

Progress  was  made  with  the  adoption  of  a  programme  and  an  action  plan  for  the
implementation of the Strategy for Modernisation of the State Administration, which aim
at consolidating the legal framework in this area.  Sustained efforts will be necessary to
further implement the public administration reform and to fulfil Bulgaria’s aim to have a
qualified and efficient civil service in place in the medium term, to ensure the effective
application and enforcement of the acquis when Bulgaria joins the Union.

The overall reform process for the judiciary continued in line with the 2002 Action Plan.
In  particular,  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  regarding  the  status  of  magistrates,
represent  an  important  step  forward.  Other  legislative  measures  aim  at  reducing  the
duration  of  court  proceedings  and  strengthening  judicial  control  of  decisions  of  the
executive. However, further efforts are necessary to re-organise the investigation service
as part of the executive in line with best practice in Member States. Bulgaria also needs
to ensure that the judicial  budget is  adequate  for the smooth functioning  of the  judicial
system.

Corruption  remains  a  problem,  and  Bulgaria  should  maintain  concerted  efforts  to
implement  measures  in  this  respect.  The  fight  against  corruption  remained  high  on  the
political agenda and further measures in this context were adopted.

Bulgaria continues to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The legal  framework for asylum  and child protection improved considerably. However,
the living conditions of children placed in institutions changed little during the past year.
As regards the mentally disabled, the required legal framework is still missing, notably to
ban  arbitrary  detention.  Despite  some  efforts  to  address  the  situation,  the  living
conditions  in  institutions  for  mentally  disabled  are  difficult  and  opportunities  for
rehabilitation and therapy are scarce. Further efforts are necessary to address the situation
as regards degrading treatment by the police and trafficking in human beings. In the area
of  social  and  economic  rights,  progress  can  be  reported  notably  as  regards  equal
opportunities and anti-discrimination.

The  new  Action  Plan  for  the  implementation  of  the  “Framework  Programme  for  Equal
Integration  of  Roma  into  Bulgarian  Society”  represents  a  positive  step,  as  specific
budgetary support is provided for measures in the areas of anti-discrimination, education,
culture, housing, employment and social protection. Determined and sustained efforts are
needed  to  fight  discriminatory  attitudes  and  behaviour  and  to  address  the  widespread
social disadvantage affecting the Roma community.

Bulgaria  is  a  functioning  market  economy.  It  should  be  able  to  cope  with  competitive
pressure and market forces within the Union in the near term, provided that it continues
implementing its reform programme to remove remaining difficulties.

23

The Bulgarian economy has achieved a high degree of macroeconomic stability due to a
good policy-mix brought about by  the  currency board  arrangement, a tight fiscal stance
and wage moderation. Economic stability and good progress in structural reforms allow
market  mechanisms  to  provide  a  more  efficient  allocation  of  resources  which,  in  the
absence of the nominal exchange rate as an instrument for adjustment, is setting the basis
for a process of sustained growth. This holds in particular for the increasing role of the
private  sector  through  privatisation  and  the  reduction  of  state  aid,  the  positive
development  of  the  banking  sector  and  some  improvements  in  the  regulatory
environment.

However, the flexibility of product and labour markets needs to be further enhanced. In
particular,  the  efficiency  of  the  administrative  and  judicial  system  has  to  be  improved,
providing economic agents a more stable and predictable framework and better allow to
enforce  their  property  rights.  The  privatisation  programme  needs  to  be  completed.
Regulations  and  administrative  procedures  affecting  enterprises  must  be  further
streamlined,  also  to  provide  more  viable  conditions  for  small  and  medium-sized
enterprises. The restructuring and liberalisation of the network industries needs to further
advance in order to reduce subsidies , to enhance quality and allow for a reduction of the
prices  of  their  services.  The  ongoing  reduction  in  unemployment  should  be  further
supported  by  addressing  rigidities  in  the  labour  market  and  improving  the  education
system. Implementing these reform measures should contribute to higher levels of private
and  public  investment,  thereby  contributing  to  sustained  growth  and  competitiveness
within the Union.

Over the past year,  Bulgaria  has  continued  to  make  good  progress  in  most  areas  of  the
acquis  and  is  on  track  to  complete  the  required  legislative  transposition  before  the
planned date of accession if the current pace of progress is maintained.

Regarding  the  internal  market,  Bulgaria  made  further  progress  in  most  areas.  In  free
movement of goods, progress continued with the adoption of sector specific legislation in
the  area  covered  by  new  approach  directives.  In  the  sectors  covered  by  old  approach
directives, progress was recorded notably as regards data protection for pharmaceuticals.
While progress is recorded in the area of food safety, further efforts are needed both on
transposition  and  administrative  capacity.  In  the  non-harmonised  area,  Bulgaria  should
continue the screening for measures that may be incompatible with the principle of free
movement of goods. As to public procurement, further efforts are necessary to align with
the acquis and to build up the necessary administrative capacity.

As regards free movement of persons, progress was limited and considerable further work
is needed concerning mutual recognition of qualifications (especially as regards curricula
and training requirements) and the establishment of the  necessary  administrative  bodies
for  the  future  co-ordination  of  social  security  systems.  Concerning  the  right  of
establishment and freedom to provide services, Bulgaria made further progress as regards
the non-discriminatory regime of national treatment for foreigners performing economic
activities in Bulgaria. The establishment of the Financial Supervision Commission is an
important step towards strengthening supervision.  Further efforts are required as regards
data protection and information-society services. In the area of free movement of capital,
Bulgaria has made good progress in adopting new legislation on capital movements and
payments, and anti-money laundering.

24

Company law was further aligned with the acquis.  The focus should now be put on the
enforcement of legislation on the protection of intellectual and industrial property rights,
notably through better co-ordination between competent authorities. Further progress was
recorded in the field of competition policy, where the legal framework for both antitrust
and  state  aid  was  consolidated.  Further  efforts  are  required  to  enhance  the  state  aid
enforcement  record.    Bulgaria  also  needs  to  restructure  its  steel  sector  in  line  with  the
relevant provisions of the Europe Agreement.

Regarding  agriculture,  Bulgaria  has  made  considerable  progress  in  adopting  legislation
in  particular  in  the  veterinary  and  phytosanitary  sector.  Administrative  structures  have
been  further  consolidated  and  strengthened  although  further  improvements  are  needed.
Substantial  work  is  still  ahead  in  order  for  Bulgaria  to  meet  EU  veterinary  and
phytosanitary control and hygiene  standards. Bulgaria  has achieved a reasonable degree
of  legislative  alignment  in  field  of  fisheries.  However,  further  progress  is  needed  with
regard to technical capacity  of inspection and  control  systems as well  as  with  regard  to
compliance with EU hygiene and health requirements.

Bulgaria has continued to make progress in aligning transport legislation with the acquis
and  has  made  efforts  to  improve  its  maritime  safety  record.    These  efforts  should
continue.  The administrative structures in the road, railway and maritime areas need to
be  strengthened.    Attention  needs  to  be  paid  to  ensuring  the  financing  for  important
investments necessary in this sector, notably for upgrading the road network.

As  regards  taxation,  positive  developments  could  be  reported  in  the  areas  of  VAT  and
excise duties, where new legislation was adopted. However, significant further efforts are
needed  to  strengthen  the  tax  administration.  Attention  should  be  paid  to  improve  tax
collection, enhance internal control, ensure that the computerised tax information system
is fully operational, and that interconnectivity with EU IT systems is prepared.

On social policy and employment, some progress has been made, particularly in the area
  However,  further  work  remains  on  legal  transposition,
of  anti-discrimination. 
particularly in the areas of labour law, health and safety at work and public health. The
administrative capacity needs to be strengthened.

Reforms in the energy sector progressed, although important legislation preparing for the
internal  market  and  setting  up  a  framework  for  energy  efficiency  have  not  yet  been
adopted.  The  preparation  for  privatisation  of  the  distribution  companies  has  advanced.
Bulgaria must continue to respect its commitments on nuclear safety, notably as regards
closure  commitments  for  Kozloduy  nuclear  power  plant  and  to  ensure  a  high  level  of
nuclear safety in its installations.

Bulgaria  has  significantly  progressed  in  aligning  with  the  telecommunications  acquis
through  the  adoption  of  a  new  telecommunications  law.    Efforts  should  now  focus  on
implementation and further enhancing the capacity of the regulator.

Concerning  regional  policy  and  co-ordination  of  structural  instruments,  Bulgaria  has
made some progress with regard to preparations for the implementation of Structural and
Cohesion  Funds,  notably  with  institutional  structures  and  programming.  Considerable
efforts are still needed to develop, consolidate or complete institutional structures and to
bring  administrative  capacity  (including  staffing  and  training)  and  procedures  up  to  the

25

level  required.  Priority  should  also  be  given  to  the  introduction  of  efficient  and  fully
transparent  procurement  and  financial  management  and  control  systems  as  well  as  to
monitoring  and  evaluation  system  and  to  the  strengthening  of  inter-ministerial  co-
ordination.

Bulgaria  has  reached  a  good  level  of  alignment  of  the  environmental  acquis  and  has
developed  directive-specific 
implementation  plans  and  financing  strategies.  The
continuous efforts to develop administrative capacities, notably at local level, and further
elaborate  mechanisms  to  monitor  effective  implementation  should  be  maintained.
Implementation  remains  a  major  challenge,  as  is  the  need  for  increased  administrative
capacity and the cost of alignment.

Some progress has been made in further aligning Bulgaria’s legislation with the acquis in
the  area  of  consumer  and  health  protection.  Bulgaria  needs  to  finalise  its  legislative
framework,  particularly  in  the  area  of  non-safety  related  measures.    Further  efforts  are
needed to put in place an efficient market surveillance mechanism.

Further  good  progress  could  be  noted  in  the  area  of  justice  and  home  affairs.  The  new
legislation  adopted  in  the  areas  of  data  protection,  visa,  migration,  asylum  and  money
laundering  almost  completed  alignment  with  the  acquis.  Substantial  further  efforts  are
needed to  further strengthen  the  judicial  system,  through  a  continuation  of  the  reforms.
Particular attention should be given to combating drugs and illegal migration.

For customs, a good degree of legal alignment has been reached and progress was noted
concerning the administrative and  operational capacity and concerning  computerisation.
These  efforts  should  continue.  Measures  were  taken  in  the  framework  of  the  anti-
corruption strategy.

Significant further progress has been made in strengthening financial control in Bulgaria,
developing  further  the  entire  legal  basis  and  the  necessary  administrative  capacity.
Further  work  should  now  focus  on  implementation  of    legislation  and  further
strengthening of  the  required  institutional  structures,  including  for  the  protection  of  the
EU financial interests.

Steady progress is being made in the other chapters of the acquis.

Bulgaria needs to continue to make sustained efforts to develop sufficient administrative
and  judicial  capacity  to  implement  and  enforce  the  acquis.  As  well  as  continuing
horizontal  reform  of  the  public  administration,  it  needs  to  focus  in  particular  on
developing the capacity to be part of the internal market and to apply the acquis in areas
such  as  agriculture,  environment  and  regional  policy.  Continued  efforts  are  required  to
establish  the  necessary  administrative  capacity  to  ensure  the  sound  and  efficient
management of EU funds.

In  the  accession  negotiations,  26  chapters  have  been  provisionally  closed.  The
commitments  made  in  the  negotiations  are  with  a  view  to  accession  in  2007.  They  are
generally being met, although delays have been noted in certain specific areas.

26

Romania

Romania continues to fulfil the political criteria.

The  political  will  to  address  administrative  and  judicial  reform  exists  and  a  number  of
positive  initiatives  have  been  launched  over  the  last  year  to  reform  the  public
administration and the judiciary. For example, the Civil Servant Statute was revised and a
major reorganisation of the court system was launched. However, the reform process is at
an  early  stage.  The  Romanian  civil  service  remains  characterised  by  cumbersome
procedures, limited transparency and a limited capacity for policy execution. The judicial
system needs to improve the management of cases and the consistency of judgements as
well as to increase the independence of the judiciary. These key issues must be urgently
addressed.

Romania still needs to develop a strategy to address reform of the policy and legislative
process.  Progress  was  made  with  the  restriction  of  the  use  of  emergency  ordinances.
Laws on the freedom of information and transparency in the legislative process are also
positive  developments  but  have  only  been  partially  implemented.  Constitutional  reform
of  the  parliamentary  system  should  be  accompanied  by  measures  to 
increase
parliamentary capacity to effectively scrutinise draft legislation.

Corruption in Romania continues to be widespread and affects all  aspects  of society.  A
number  of  high-profile  measures  were  launched  over  the  reporting  period  -  but  the
implementation  of  anti-corruption  policy  as  a  whole  has  been  limited.  The  measures
taken have yet to have an impact and substantially increased efforts are needed.

Romania  continues  to  respect  human  rights  and  fundamental  freedoms,  and  has  made
good progress in a number of important areas.

Structures  have  been  established  to  implement  anti-discrimination  legislation  and  a
number  cases  of  discrimination  were  sanctioned.  The  capacity  of  the  Ombudsman’s
office was strengthened.  The good progress noted in last year’s report in reforming the
system  of  child  protection  has  continued  and  further  initiatives  have  been  taken  to
enhance the rights of national minorities.  The implementation of the Roma Strategy has
continued  although  a  lack  of  resources  has  meant  that  the  results  have  been  somewhat
limited. Similarly, the process of property restitution has continued, but remains far from
complete.

Reforms  have  been  launched  in  a  number  of  other  areas:  modernisation  of  the  police,
improving care for the disabled, reducing social exclusion, improving the social dialogue.
To  date,  the  main  work  in  these  fields  has  consisted  of  developing  strategies  and
preparing  framework  legislation.  The  challenge  for  the  future  will  be  the  effective
implementation  of  these  initiatives.  While  the  proposals  to  reform  the  Penal  Code  are
positive developments, further efforts are needed to strengthen the freedom of expression.
Additional measures are also needed to further reduce prison overcrowding.

Romania  can  be  considered  as  a  functioning  market  economy  once  the  good  progress
made has continued decisively. In addition, a vigorous and sustained implementation of
its structural reform programme is required in order for Romania to be able to cope with
competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the near term.

27

Further  progress  towards  macroeconomic  stability  was  made  as  inflation  continued  to
decline  from  a  relatively  high  level  despite  further  adaptations  of  regulated  prices.  The
external position remained sustainable and fiscal policy prudent. Measures to improve tax
administration  are  being  progressively  put  into  place.  The  commitments  to  control  the
total wage bill in the public sector were broadly respected and some actions were taken to
enforce enterprises’  financial discipline,  most  notably a somewhat  higher  disposition  to
disconnect  energy  users  in  arrears.  Privatisation  and  restructuring  of  public  enterprises
accelerated.  Public  ownership  also  decreased  in  a  banking  sector  that  continued  to
develop  its  intermediation  role.  Administrative  improvements  of  market  entry  and  exit
mechanisms  were  undertaken  along  with  various  initiatives  to  improve  the  business
environment.

The  authorities  should  now  consolidate  the  progress  achieved  in  these  areas  while
addressing  more  decisively  those  issues  where  advances  were  insufficient.  In  order  to
preserve the momentum towards greater macroeconomic stability, the recent tightening in
monetary policy should be accompanied by prudent fiscal and wage policies as well as by
a continued reduction in the quasi-fiscal deficit. Medium-term fiscal prospects also need
to be strengthened by advancing expenditure reform and improving tax compliance. This
would help strengthening enterprise financial discipline which remains a key, unresolved
issue. Measures should focus on the root causes of the continued accumulation of arrears
to  the  budget  and  the  energy  sector.  Efforts  to  improve  the  workings  of  the  market
mechanism  must  be  completed  by  a  greater  willingness  to  liquidate  loss-making
enterprises and establish natural gas prices that appropriately reflect short and long-term
costs.  Having  moved  beyond  the  initial  phases,  restructuring  and  privatisation  in  key
sectors,  such  as  energy,  mining  and  transport,  must  be  brought  forward.  This  would
greatly support the establishment of a functioning market economy and the development
of  Romania’s  capacity  to  cope  with  competitive  pressure  and  market  forces  within  the
Union.

Romania  has  made  steady  progress  with  the  adoption  of  the  acquis  and  is  on  track  to
transpose  the  required  legislation  before  the  planned  date  of  accession  provided  the
current pace of progress is maintained. Weaknesses in the legislative process mean that
the quality of legislation transposed is uneven and in some cases revisions will be needed
before laws can be implemented.

In  the  area  of  the  internal  market,  Romania  has  continued  to  make  progress  with  the
transposition  of  sector  specific  legislation  on  the  free  movement  of  goods  and  public
procurement. Particular attention must be paid to developing the ability to administer the
public procurement, the foodstuffs and food safety acquis. Romania should also continue
the screening for measures that may be incompatible with the principle of free movement
of  goods.  Progress  on  the  free  movement  of  persons  has  been  limited  and  additional
efforts  should  now  be  focused  on  preparations  for  implementing  the  acquis  on  mutual
recognition of professional qualifications. Work to identify barriers to the free movement
of  services  has  continued  -  although  only  a  few  restrictions  have  been  removed.  While
alignment  with  the  acquis  on  free  movement  of  capital  is  steadily  improving  greater
efforts are needed to improve payments systems and the fight against money laundering.

Romania has made progress in the field of company law as such. Implementation of new
accountancy and auditing rules should be prioritised. Greater efforts to protect industrial

28

and intellectual property rights are needed. While the Romanian competition legislation is
broadly in line with EC anti-trust rules, in the area of state aid there is not yet sufficient
control. In the steel sector, Romania's  obligations for transparency with regard to direct
and indirect state aid should continue to be respected.

Further  progress  has  been  made  in  transposing  the  agricultural  acquis  and  in  the
restructuring of the agricultural sector. Enforcement of legislation is hampered by limited
management and administrative capacity.  Particular attention should therefore be paid to
reinforcing the administrative capacity to implement and enforce the acquis, in particular
in  the  veterinary  and  phytosanitary  fields.  Only  limited  progress  has  taken  place  in  the
fisheries sector and delays have occurred with regards to the transposition of the acquis,
in  particular  on  the  Fishing  Vessel  Register.  The  administrative  capacity  needs  to  be
considerably reinforced.

Romania  has  continued  to  make  good  progress  with  the  transposition  of  the  transport
acquis and with the establishment of the required administrative structures but maritime
safety remains a  concern.  Priority  should  be  given  to  developing  institutions  to  enforce
the  new  legislation  and  securing  the  funding  needed  to  make  the  heavy  investments
required.

Romania has made some progress in aligning with the acquis on taxation and particular
attention  should  now  be  paid  to  the  modernisation  of  the  tax  administration  and
improvement of IT systems. The adoption of the Labour Code was a major step forward
in  the  transposition  of  the  acquis  on  social  policy  and  employment.  The  main  focus  of
future efforts should be ensuring the implementation of the various initiatives that have
been  taken  and  to  strengthen  the  administrative  capacity.  Legislative  progress  in  the
energy  sector  needs  to  be  matched  by  establishing  effective  implementation  structures,
carrying  through  with  structural  reforms  and  improving  the  functioning  of  the  internal
energy market.

The  building  blocks  for  a  modern  industrial  policy  are  now  in  place,  but  the  key
challenge  is  its  implementation  as  structural  weaknesses  limit  the  capacity  for
enforcement. Considerable efforts have been made to improve the business environment
although  the  situation  facing  Small  and  medium-sized  enterprises,  remains  difficult.
Romania  has  made  significant  progress  in  the  area  of  telecommunications  with  the
establishment of  a regulatory body, the  liberalisation  of  the  telecommunications  market
and the transposition of the new telecommunication acquis.

The  institutional  framework  for  regional  policy  and  co-ordination  of  structural
instruments  is  still  not  clearly  defined  and  specific  arrangements  for  financial
management and control have still to be made. Considerable further efforts are needed to
bring the administrative capacity up to the level required. In the area of the environment,
although  Romania  has  transposed  a  considerable  amount  of  legislation,  administrative
capacity and financial resources dedicated to the sector remain inadequate.

Legislative alignment on consumer and health protection has continued and Romania has
made  some  progress  as  regards  market  surveillance  activities  and  the  co-ordination  of
control activities between competent ministries and authorities.

29

Legislative  progress  has  been  made  in  most  areas  of  justice  and  home  affairs  and
especially so in migration, organised crime, money laundering, and judicial co-operation
in civil matters. However, implementation capacity remains weak in almost all areas and
Romania should increase its efforts  to develop  administrative  capacity and  inter-agency
co-operation.

Progress  has  also  been  made  in  the  area  of  customs  although  additional  efforts  should
address  corruption  within  the  Customs  Administration  and  prepare  in  advance  for  the
application  of  measures  that  will  be  introduced  at  the  time  of  accession.  Considerable
progress has been made in the financial control area. Further efforts should concentrate
on implementing sound financial control systems, completing legislative alignment, and
strengthening the administrative capacities.

Steady progress is being made in the other chapters of the acquis.

In  a  number  of  important  sectors,  there  has  been  a  continued  gap  between  progress  in
legal  transposition  and  the  limited  overall  capacity  of  the  public  administration  to
implement and enforce the newly adopted legislation. This represents a major constraint
on  Romania’s  accession  preparations  and  to  address  this  issue  will  require  a
comprehensive,  structural  reform  of  both  the  public  administration  and  the  judicial
system.  These  concerns  extend  beyond  adoption  of  the  acquis  and  also  apply  to  the
management  of  EU  financial  assistance.  Progress  in  establishing  the  new  institutional
structures  required  by  the  acquis  has  continued  although  results  to  date  have  been
uneven.

In  the  accession  negotiations,  20  chapters  have  been  provisionally  closed.  The
commitments  made  in  the  negotiations  are  with  a  view  to  accession  in  2007.  They  are
generally being met, although delays have been noted in certain specific areas.

Turkey

Over the past year the Turkish government has shown great determination in accelerating
the pace of reforms, which have brought  far-reaching changes to the political  and  legal
system.  It  has  also  taken  important  steps  to  ensure  their  effective  implementation,  in
order to allow Turkish citizens to enjoy fundamental freedoms and human rights in line
with  European  standards.  Four  major  packages  of  political  reform  have  been  adopted,
introducing  changes  to  different  areas  of  legislation.  Some  of  the  reforms  carry  great
political significance as they impinge upon sensitive issues in the Turkish context, such
as freedom of expression, freedom of demonstration, cultural rights and civilian control
of  the  military.  Many  priorities  under  the  political  criteria  in  the  revised  Accession
Partnership have been addressed.

Progress  is  being  made  in  streamlining  the  functioning  of  public  administration  and
government. The government has, in particular, started reforms with a view to promoting
a  more  transparent  management  of  human  resources  in  the  public  service.  This  also
serves to strengthen the fight against corruption.

30

The  duties,  powers  and  functioning  of  the  National  Security  Council  (NSC)  have  been
substantially  amended,  bringing  the  framework  of  civil-military  relations  closer  to
practice  in  EU  member  states.  The  role  of  the  Secretary  General  of  the  NSC  has  been
reviewed and its executive powers have been abolished. There are still representatives of
the NSC in civilian boards such as the High Audio Visual Board (RTÜK) and the High
Education  Board (YÖK). Full parliamentary  control over military expenditures must be
ensured both in terms of approving the budget and in terms of auditing.

More  efforts  are  still  needed  to  enhance  the  efficiency  and  the  independence  of  the
judiciary.  Already, the judicial system has been strengthened with the establishment of a
new system of family courts. The competence of military courts to try civilians has been
abolished.  Positive  changes  have  been  made  to  the  system  of  State  Security  Courts,  in
particular the abolition of incommunicado detention. However, the functioning  of these
courts still needs to be brought fully in line with the European standards in particular with
the defence rights and the principle of fair trial.

On the ground, implementation of the  reforms  is  uneven.  In  some  cases,  executive  and
judicial  bodies  entrusted  with  the  implementation  of  the  political  reforms  relating  to
fundamental freedoms adopted by Parliament have narrowed the scope of these reforms
by  establishing  restrictive  conditions,  hindering  the  objectives  initially  pursued.  The
government has recognised that the reforms are not being put into practice systematically
and has set up a Reform Monitoring Group in order to ensure their implementation.

Turkey has ratified the Civil Law Convention on Corruption, so that on 1 January 2004 it
will  become  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Europe’s  Group  of  States  against  corruption
(GRECO).  However,  in  spite  of  several  initiatives,  corruption  remains  at  a  persistently
high level and affects many spheres of public life.

Turkey  has  ratified  major  international  as  well  as  European  Conventions  such  as  the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on Social and Economic Rights as
well as Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It  is,  however,  of  great  concern  that  Turkey  has  not  executed  many  judgements  of  the
ECtHR, by means of ensuring payment of just satisfaction or reversing decisions made in
contravention of the ECtHR.  One example is the  Loizidou case, as  it  is  now  five  years
since the ECtHR ruled on this matter.

The  fight  against  torture  and  ill-treatment  has  been  strengthened  and  the  Turkish  legal
system  has  come  closer  to  European  standards  in  this  respect.  The  scale  of  torture  has
declined but there are still reports about specific cases, which continues to cause concern.

The  reform  of  the  prison  system  has  continued  and  rights  of  detainees  have  been
improved. In practice, the right to access a lawyer is not always ensured.

The possibility of retrial has been introduced but in practice few cases have been subject
to retrial. In the case of Zana and others, retrial has so far largely resulted in a repetition
of  the  previous  trial,  leading  to  persistent  concerns  about  the  respect  for  the  rights  of
defence.

31

The adoption of the reform packages has led to the lifting of several legal restrictions on
the exercise of freedom of expression. The enforcement of the revised provisions of the
Penal  Code  has  led  to  many  acquittals  although  cases  against  persons  expressing  non-
violent  opinion  continue  to  occur.  A  number  of  persons  imprisoned  for  non-violent
expression  of  opinion,  under  provisions  that  have  now  been  abolished,  have  been
released.

Notable progress has been achieved in the area of freedom of demonstration and peaceful
assembly  where  several  restrictions  have  been  lifted.  Nevertheless,  in  some  cases  of
peaceful demonstration, the authorities have made a disproportionate use of force.

As  regards  freedom  of  association,  some  restrictions  have  been  eased,  but  associations
still  experience  cumbersome  procedures.  Cases  of  prosecution  against  associations  and
particularly human rights defenders continue to occur.

The law on political parties has been amended to make closure of parties more difficult.
However,  HADEP  has  been  banned  by  the  Constitutional  Court  and  DEHAP  is  facing
proceedings in view of its closure.

Concerning freedom of religion, the changes introduced by the reform packages have not
yet  produced  the  desired  effects.  Executive  bodies  continue  to  adopt  a  very  restrictive
interpretation  of  the  relevant  provisions,  so  that  religious  freedom  is  subject  to  serious
limitations  as  compared  with  European  standards.  This  is  particularly  the  case  for  the
absence of legal personality,  education  and  training  of  ecclesiastic  personnel  as  well  as
full enjoyment of property rights of religious communities.

Measures have been taken to lift the ban on radio and TV broadcasting and education in
languages other than Turkish. So far, the reforms adopted in these areas have produced
little practical effect.

The  lifting  of  the  state  of  emergency  in  the  Southeast  has  in  general  eased  tensions
amongst  the  population.  There  has  been  greater  tolerance  for  cultural  events.  The
programme  for  the  return  to  villages  proceeds  at  a  very  slow  pace.  Serious  efforts  are
needed  to  address  the  problems  of  the  internally  displaced  persons  and  the  socio-
economic development of the region in a comprehensive fashion and of cultural rights in
general.

In the conclusions of the Thessaloniki European Council, and the Accession Partnership,
Turkey is encouraged to strongly support the efforts of the UN Secretary General towards
a  settlement  of  the  Cyprus  problem.  Turkey  has  expressed  its  support  on  different
occasions for a settlement to the Cyprus problem. Turkey has indicated that an agreement
aiming to establish a customs union with the northern part of Cyprus will not come into
effect.

Relations between Turkey and Greece have continued to improve. Efforts are continuing
to put in effect new  confidence  building  measures. Exploratory contacts on  the  Aegean
between the two foreign ministries have also continued.

Turkey  decided  to  give  its  agreement  as  a  NATO  member  to  the  modalities  of
participation of non-EU European  allies in EU-led operations  using NATO assets.  This

32

has solved a problem which had hitherto  hindered  the effective launch  of  the European
Security and Defence Policy.

Overall,  in  the  past  12  months  Turkey  has  made  further  impressive  legislative  efforts
which constitute significant progress towards achieving compliance with the Copenhagen
political criteria. Turkey should address the outstanding issues highlighted in this report,
with particular attention to the strengthening of the independence and the functioning of
the  judiciary,  the  overall  framework  for  the  exercise  of  fundamental  freedoms
(association,  expression  and  religion),  the  further  alignment  of  civil-military  relations
with European practice, the situation in the Southeast and cultural rights. Turkey should
ensure  full  and  effective  implementation  of  reforms  to  ensure  that  Turkish  citizens  can
enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms in line with European standards.

Furthermore,  Turkey  should  provide  determined  support  for  efforts  to  achieve  a
comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

Turkey  has  significantly  improved  the  functioning  of  its  market  economy,  while
macroeconomic  imbalances  remain.  Further  decisive  steps  towards  macroeconomic
stability  and  structural  reforms  will  also  enhance  the  Turkish  capacity  to  cope  with
competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.

Economic  stability  and  predictability  have  increased  with  a  continued  decline  in
inflationary  pressures,  although  still  high,  and  the  modernisation  of  Turkey’s  market
regulations and institutions.  The  positive  effects  of  adopted  and  gradually  implemented
structural reforms have helped to withstand the effects of the Iraq crisis without a major
economic setback. The independent regulatory and supervisory agencies played a crucial
role in this respect.  Financial sector surveillance has been strengthened and the base for a
modern foreign direct investment legislation has been laid.  Transparency and efficiency
of public finance management has been improved.

The  current  reform  process  should  be  maintained.  Fiscal  discipline  and  a  stability-
oriented  economic  policy  are  cornerstones  for  strengthening  market  confidence  and
sustainable public finances. In order to achieve a well-balanced and sound economy, the
disinflation process has to be maintained. The restructuring in the banking sector is not
yet  sufficiently  advanced  and  the  process  of  aligning  the  sector’s  surveillance  and
prudential standards with international norms should be completed. The privatisation of
state-owned banks and enterprises as well as market deregulation has to be accelerated,
and  structural  distortions  should  be  addressed.  Sufficient  public  and  private  investment
into  productive  uses  and  devoting  particular  attention  to  education  are  important  to
increase  the  competitiveness  and  the  growth  potential  of  the  economy.  The  inflow  of
foreign direct investment has to be encouraged by removing remaining barriers.

Turkey’s alignment has progressed in most areas but remains in an early stage for many
chapters. It is most advanced in chapters related to the EC-Turkey Customs Union but in
this  respect  it  is  not  fully  meeting  its  obligations.  Alignment  is  also  more  advanced  in
areas  where other international obligations exist which are similar to the acquis. Further
legislative  work  is  required  in  all  areas,  and  Turkey  should  focus  on  implementing  its
National  Programme  for  the  Adoption  of  the  Acquis,  in  line  with  the  Accession
Partnership priorities, more consistently across all chapters. Also, new legislation should
not move away from the acquis.

33

On the free movement of goods Turkey has made progress, particularly on sector-specific
legislation,  but  substantial  efforts  are  needed  in  terms  of  both  alignment  and
implementation  of  the  new  and  old  approach  legislation  on  product  safety  and  product
specifications,  both  as  regards  industrial  and  processed  food  products,  including  food
safety.  There  has  been  only  limited  progress  in  establishing  conformity  assessment  and
market  surveillance  mechanisms  and  institutions,  and  the  system  of  legal  metrology
needs to be reinforced.  Through amendments to the public procurement law, Turkey has
reduced the level of compliance with the acquis. In the short term, Turkey should seek to
adopt instruments to remove technical barriers to trade.  Much work remains to be done
to  ensure  correct  implementation  of  the  acquis  and  compliance  with  the  obligations
ensuing from the Customs Union Decision applicable on 31 December 2000.

On  free  movement  of  persons,  there  has  been  some  progress  in  the  reporting  period,
mainly in the area of free movement of workers, but Turkey's alignment remains limited.
With regard to the free movement of services, Turkey has made some progress in relation
to the banking sector, and  to investment services  and securities markets.  In  the  field  of
professional  services,  limited  progress  has  been  made.    In  the  insurance  sector,  a
substantial  effort  is  needed  to  harmonise  legislation  with  the  acquis  and  to  strengthen
administrative capacity.  Efforts to adopt legislation concerning data protection should be
continued  and  further  legislation  concerning  information-society  services  should  be
adopted in accordance with the acquis. On free movement of capital the alignment with
the acquis is progressing, notably as regards the liberalisation of capital movements, but
further efforts are necessary.

Despite  the  measures  taken  in  previous  years,  alignment  in  the  field  of  company  law
including intellectual and industrial property rights, remains limited. Both legislative and
enforcement measures  are needed to tackle  piracy and  infringements  of  intellectual  and
industrial property rights. On competition, efforts are needed to strengthen the provisions
for state aid monitoring and to establish a state aid monitoring authority.

As regards agriculture, some progress has been made in the veterinary and phytosanitary
fields  particularly  as  regards  animal  disease  control,  identification  and  registration  of
bovine  animals  and  harmful  organisms  related  to  potatoes.  Further  substantial  efforts
aimed  at  increasing  the  administrative  capacity  and  upgrading  control  and  inspection
systems,  and  the  upgrading  of  food  processing  establishments,  will  be  required  if  full
compliance is to be achieved in these sectors. A strategy for rural development should be
put in place. In the area of fisheries, limited progress has been made but some preparatory
work, especially in the area of inspection and control, has been completed.  However, the
alignment of key legislation with the acquis and the institutional reform still lie ahead.

On transport, progress remains very limited. In certain sectors, particularly road transport
and  maritime  safety,  the  level  of  alignment  achieved  relates  to  the  transposition  of
various international conventions. Substantial efforts are needed in the area of maritime
safety  and  on  road  and  rail  transport.  Limited  progress  has  been  achieved  on  taxation,
both in  terms of  legislation  and  administrative  capacity.    As  regards  legislation,  further
alignment  is  required  on  VAT,  where  due  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  scope  of
exemptions  and  application  of  reduced  rates. 
  As  for  excises,  although  some
approximation  of  alcohol  and  tobacco  duties  has  been  achieved,  the  applied  duties  are
still lower than the EU minimums. Turkey also needs to implement the duty-suspension
movement regime.

34

Turkey  has  made  some  progress  in  all  statistical  areas,  but  more  efforts  are  needed  in
order to meet the main requirements as regards alignment. The existing legislation needs
to be brought into line with the acquis in order to implement the fundamental principles
of  impartiality  and  reliability  of  data,  transparency  of  statistics  and  confidentiality  of
personal  data.  On  social  policy  and  employment,  Turkey  has  made  some  progress.
Administrative  capacity  has  been  strengthened  and  measures  have  been  adopted  to
promote gender equality  in the field  of  labour  law  and  on  employment  policy.    Further
efforts  are  required  in  the  field  of  social  dialogue  and  health  and  safety.  As  regards
energy,  significant  progress  has  been  achieved  via  the  adoption  of  various  provisions
implementing the framework laws on electricity and gas markets. Alignment in the areas
of  energy  efficiency  and  renewables  has  also  progressed.    In  all  energy  fields,  further
efforts are needed to ensure completion of alignment.

On  industrial  policy,  Turkey  has  made  progress  in  the  field  of  public  sector  reform,  as
well  as  with  the  adoption  of  a  new  foreign  direct  investment  law.    Further  efforts  are
required  to  restructure  state-owned  enterprises.  Steel  industry  restructuring  remains  a
high  priority.  Turkey  has  made  some  progress  as  regards  small  and  medium-sized
enterprise policy.   The  introduction  of  simplified  procedures  to  register  and  establish  a
company  is  a  positive  development.  Turkey  is  well  endowed  with  technology
development  centres.  Turkey’s  full  association  with  the  Sixth  Framework  Programme
demonstrates  positive  engagement  on  science  and  research,  although  Turkey's
participation to EU programmes has only recently begun.  Turkey should increase levels
of  investment  in  science  and  research.  Some  progress  has  been  achieved  in  the  area  of
education  and  training.  Turkey  should  increase  efforts  to  complete  its  preparation  for
participation  in  the  three  Community  programmes,  and  ensure  that  measures  are  being
implemented.

Despite some  progress, the legislative alignment  with  the  telecommunications  acquis  is
still  insufficient  and  further  efforts  are  necessary,  particularly  with  regard  to  universal
service, numbering, leased lines and data protection. Implementation and enforcement of
the existing legislation should be improved. Considerable efforts are needed to liberalise
the  market  for  postal  services.  Turkey  has  made  legislative  progress  on  culture  and
audio-visual policy, in particular, through authorising broadcasts in languages other than
Turkish.    However,  further  substantial  efforts  are  required  to  align  with  the  acquis  and
Turkey  is  encouraged  to  adopt  implementing  measures  on  broadcasting  in  other
languages.

In  the  field  of  regional  policy,  some  progress  has  been  achieved  since  the  last  regular
report  but  considerable  efforts  are  still  necessary  to  ensure  implementation  of  regional
policy  at  central  and  regional  level.    Appropriate  institutions  need  to  be  created  and
endowed with adequate human and financial resources. In the environmental area, Turkey
has made limited progress in a number of areas, and overall the level of alignment with
the  acquis  remains  low  in  most  areas.  Greater  efforts  are  needed  as  regards  both
legislation and implementation on all aspects of environment policy.

Alignment on consumer and health protection has progressed, notably with the adoption
of  a  framework  law.    However,  an  effective  safety  surveillance  regime  should  be
established  and  adequate  resources  are  needed  to  ensure  a  high  level  of  consumer
protection.  In  adopting  initial  strategies  for  alignment  in  the  area  of  justice  and  home
affairs, Turkey has made important progress. Co-operation has improved in many fields,

35

such  as  the  fight  against  illegal  migration  and  organised  crime.    Turkey  should  start
implementing the strategies already adopted and intensify its efforts to align its legal and
institutional  framework.  Turkey  should  start  to  negotiate  a  readmission  agreement  with
the EU.

In the customs union chapter, the following outstanding issues should be given priority:
legislation  on  the  customs  aspects  of  control;  counterfeit  and  pirated  goods;  cultural
goods and  non-customs legislation  relevant to the  application  of  customs  provisions  on
free zones and customs procedures with economic impact.  Administrative capacity has
been improved, but Turkey should continue to strengthen inter-institutional co-operation,
post clearance audits and border control, in order to achieve satisfactory implementation
and enforcement of the aligned legislation.

Turkey  has  made  very  limited  progress  on  external  relations,  where  long  outstanding
obligations, particularly in the area of the Generalised System of Preferences, remain to
be fulfilled.  In the context of bilateral agreements, Turkey should continue its efforts to
conclude free trade agreements with partners with whom the EU has such arrangements.
In  the  field  of  the  common  foreign  and  security  policy,  Turkey's  policy  has  largely
continued to position itself along the lines of that of the EU. Turkey should ensure that its
national policies and practice conform to the EU's common positions, and should ensure
that all sanctions and restrictive measures can be duly implemented.

Due to the delay in passing the Public Financial Management and Financial Control Law,
little  progress  has  been  made  on  financial  control.  Turkey  should  adopt  this  law  and
focus on improving budget transparency and accounting standards and implementing the
new budget code structure.

In many fields implementation is weak. Administrative capacity in different areas needs
to be strengthened to ensure that the acquis is implemented and enforced effectively. In
some cases, administrative reform should entail the establishment of new structures, for
example in the field of state aid and regional development. Where new regulatory bodies
have  been  set  up,  their  autonomy  should  be  assured  and  they  should  be  provided  with
sufficient staff and financial resources.

36

ANNEX 3: HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTIONS RATIFIED BY THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

(as at end of October 2003)

Adherence to following conventions and protocols

Bulgaria Romania Turkey

ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights)

Protocol 1 (right of property)

Protocol 4 (freedom movement et al.)

Protocol 6 (death penalty)

Protocol 7 (ne bis in idem)

European  Convention  for  the  Prevention  of
Torture

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

European Social Charter

n/a

n/a

Revised European Social Charter

Framework Convention for National Minorities

ICCPR  (International  Covenant  on  Civil  and
Political Rights)

Optional  Protocol  to  the  ICCPR  (right  of  individual
communication)

Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR (death penalty)

ICESCR  (International  Covenant  on  Economic,
Social and Cultural rights)

CAT (Convention against Torture)

CERD (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination)

CEDAW  (Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All
Forms of Discrimination against Women)

Optional Protocol to the CEDAW

CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child)

1 Not yet notified to the Council of Europe.

37

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)1

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

(cid:1)

ANNEX 4: TWINNING PROJECTS AND PEER REVIEWS

Number of twinning projects 1998-2003*
in which Member States are involved as leaders or partners

a
i
r
t
s
u
A

8
–

7

–

11

1

3

1

8

4

13

13

–

69

m
u
i
g
l
e
B

–
–

–

–

1

1

3

–

–

1

–

–

–

6

y
n
a
m
r
e
G

25
–

37

12

24

10

20

–

45

24

22

18

3

k
r
a
m
n
e
D

2
1

5

5

7

6

13

–

14

4

2

–

1

n
i
a
p
S

9
1

10

1

11

3

6

2

21

20

8

12

2

d
n
a
l
n
i
F

–
–

2

15

5

5

10

–

7

–

4

–

–

e
c
n
a
r
F

12
–

16

6

16

3

7

1

45

33

14

6

1

e
c
e
e
r
G

8
1

2

2

3

1

1

–

2

11

7

1

2

d
n
a
l
e
r
I

2
–

5

4

1

–

–

2

3

–

2

2

–

y
l
a
t
I

1
–

6

1

4

–

3

4

12

15

7

2

2

s
d
n
a
l
r
e
h
t
e
N

8
–

16

5

12

2

3

1

21

11

8

4

1

240

60

106

48

160

41

21

57

92

Country

Bulgaria
Cyprus

Czech Rep.

Estonia

Hungary

Latvia

Lithuania

Malta

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Turkey*

Total

*) Selections for 2003 are not finalised

**) This total does not correspond to the total number of projects, some projects involve more than one Member State

l
a
g
u
t
r
o
P

–
–

1

–

–

–

–

–

1

–

–

1

–

3

n
e
d
e
w
S

4
–

3

8

8

9

18

–

10

5

6

6

–

d
e
t
i
n
U

m
o
d
g
n
i
K

Total**

13
–

29

6

13

7

9

7

34

14

8

6

2

92
3

139

65

116

48

96

18

223

142

101

71

14

77

148

1,128

38

Peer reviews being carried out through the TAIEX Office of the European Commission

October 2002 – September 2003

Chapter 11

Chapter 32

Chapter 73

Chapter 94

Chapter 135

Chapter 196

Chapter 227

Chapter 248, 25, 28

Total

Candidate  or
acceding
country

Free
Movement  of
Goods

Freedom  to
provide
services

Agriculture

Transport

Social Policy

Environment

Telecommu-
nications and
information
technologies

Justice and home
Affairs, customs
union, financial
control

1

1
1

1
2

1
2
1
2
3

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
12

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
12

3
3
8
8
9
8
9
3
9
3
7
9
79

Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Total
Notes:
1 Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points; market surveillance, metrology
2 Financial services
3 Bovine database, milk quotas, veterinary establishments, wine, animal feedingstuffs, animal welfare, zoonoses, beef carcass classification, Paying Agencies, trade mechanisms (not all
topics in all countries)
4 Maritime, road and rail transport
5 Communicable diseases
6 Postal services
7 Industrial pollution prevention and control, nature protection, water quality
8 Justice and home affairs, including topics such as: implementation of the Schengen Action Plan and external borders, judiciary, asylum, drugs, visa policy, money laundering, fight
against economic and financial crime, fraud and corruption, police co-operation, counterfeiting of the euro

6
7
14
12
15
17
17
8
17
6
13
13
147

1
1
1
1
2
3
1
2

2
1
15

1
1
10

1
4

13

1

1

1

2

39

TAIEX Peer reviews: number of expert mobilisations per Member State

Member State

Total number of expert mobilisations

Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom

22
20
47
31
48
47
7
30
19
4
45
18
18
25
71

Total

452

Note:  Figures  refer  to  total  number  of  mobilisations,  not  total  number  of  experts  used.

40

ANNEX 5: STATE OF PLAY OF NEGOTIATIONS

(as at 31 October 2003)

Chapter

Free movement of goods
Freedom of movement for persons
Freedom to provide services
Free movement of capital

N°
1
2
3
4
5 Company law
6 Competition policy
7 Agriculture
Fisheries
8
Transport policy
9
10 Taxation
11 Economic and monetary union
12 Statistics
13 Social policy and employment
14 Energy
15 Industrial policy
16 Small and medium sized enterprises
17 Science and research
18 Education and training
19 Telecommunications and information technologies
20 Culture and audiovisual policy
21 Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments
22 Environment
23 Consumers and health protection
24 Cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs
25 Customs union
26 External relations
27 Common foreign and security policy
28 Financial control
29 Financial and budgetary provisions
30 Institutions
31 Other

Chapters opened
Chapters closed
Chapters still to be negotiated

41

Bulgaria
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Closed
Not yet
opened
30
26
5

Romania
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Closed
Open
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Open
Closed
Not yet
opened
30
20
11

ANNEX 6: MAIN STATISTICAL INDICATORS (2002)

Area

1 000
km²

111
9
79
45
93
65
65
0.3
313
238
49
20
775

Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Turkey

EU15
Acceding 10
EU 25

3234
739
3973

Population

GDP in purchasing power standards (PPS)

GDP growth

Share of agriculture

Million
inhabitants

Inhabitants/km²

Billion €

Per capita, in €

Per capita, as % of
EU average

% change

As % of
gross added
value

As % of
employment

7.9
0.8
10.2
1.4
10.2
2.4
3.5
0.4
38.2
21.8
5.4
2.0
69.6

378.4
74.3
452.7

71
86
130
30
108
36
53
1 259
122
92
110
99
90

117.0
100.5
113.9

47.4
14.0
146.9
13.5
138.2
19.9
34.3
4.6(2)
363.0
128.9
61.3
35.3
382.9

9166.5
831.0(3)
9997.5(3)

5 900
17 400
14 400
10 000
13 600
8 500
9 400
11 700(2)
9 500
5 900
11 400
17 700
5 500

24 010
11 150(3)
21 910(3)

25
72
60
42
57
35
39
55(2)
39
25
47
74
23

4.8
2.2
2.0
6.0
3.3
6.1
6.7
1.2
1.6
4.9
4.4
3.2
7.8

12.5
4.3
3.7
5.4
4.3(1)
4.7
7.1
2.8
3.1
13.0
4.5
3.3(1)
11.5

10.7
5.3
4.9
6.5
6.0
15.3
18.6
2.3(1)
19.6
37.7
6.6
9.7
33.2

Sources : Eurostat from national sources.

(1) 2001
(2) 1999
(3) This figure is an approximation based on PPS calculated for the EU15; PPS is at this stage not yet available on the basis of EU25.

42

Inflation
rate

Unemployment
rate

General
government
budget

Year-on-
year, in %

% of labour force

Balance in %
of GDP

Exports in % of
imports

External trade

Current
account

Foreign direct
investment

Exports to EU
in % of total
exports

Imports from
EU in % total
imports

Balance of
EU with
country, in
million €

Balance,
in % of
GDP

Stock in
€ per
capita(2)

Net
inflow in
% of
GDP

18.1
3.8
7.3
9.1
5.6
12.8
13.1
7.4
19.9
7.0
18.6
6.0
10.4

-0.6
-3.5
-3.9
1.3
-9.2
-3.0
-2.0
-6.2
-4.1
-2.2
-7.2
-2.6
-10.0

Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Turkey

5.8
2.8
1.4
3.6
5.2
2.0
0.4
2.2
1.9
22.5
3.3
7.5
45

Sources : Eurostat from national sources.

(1) 2001
(2) 2000
(3) 1999

78.2
12.5
94.4
71.6
91.4
56.4
71.0
74.1
74.4
77.6
87.1
94.7
69.1

43

55.6
48.0
68.4
68.0
75.1
60.4
48.4
46.6
68.7
67.1
60.5
59.4
51.5

50.2
55.8
60.2
57.9
56.3
53.0
44.5
67.0
61.7
58.4
50.3
68.0
45.5

606
2 173
1 673
847
-68
620
1 290
1 575
9 165
1 003
-982
1 806
2 178

-4.7
-5.3(1)
-6.3
-12.3
-4.0
-7.7
-5.3
-3.9
-3.6
-3.4
-8.2
1.7
-0.8

273
n.a.
2 289
2 092
n.a.
978
723
6 418
963
252
903
1 543
296

3.9
4.3
13.4
4.4
1.8
4.6
5.3
8.8(1)
2.2
2.9(3)
17.0
8.3
0.6