First step on the road to enlargement

Date: 17/07/1997

THE prospect of a 21-member Union early in the 21st century moved closer this week as the European Commission fired the starting gun on the fifth enlargement in the EU's history.

The historic first step towards bridging the long-standing East-West divide within Europe also heralds the start of a tough 18 months of internal negotiations as member states fight over fundamental reforms of the EU's agricultural, regional and social programmes.

But the first battle will centre on whether Union governments will accept or reject the Commission's advice that entry talks with the six leading candidates - Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus - should start early next year, with other applicants forced to wait until they are better prepared for membership.

To help the applicants gear up for entry into the EU club, the Commission envisages a seven-year latter-day Marshall Plan of 75 billion ecu for the countries of central and eastern Europe.