Screening formula under scrutiny

Date: 19/02/1998

By Mark Turner

EU GOVERNMENTS are still wrestling with the difficult question of how to differentiate between applicants for Union membership without prompting charges of discrimination, only one month before enlargement negotiations begin.

Union leaders agreed in December to open fast-track accession negotiations with only Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus, but to begin a process known as 'screening' - examining the legislation already on national statute books - with all the EU's eastern applicants together.

This formula pleased everyone, as the leaders of the countries furthest behind on the road to Union membership could tell their citizens that they were on a par with the first-wave candidates. The trouble is that some politicians in the second-wave countries are now realising with dismay that they remain firmly in the slow lane.

EU governments must decide this month when the common screening should be reduced to a bilateral process - at which point the gap between leading and lagging candidates will become starkly apparent.

From then on, the front runners will be given first-class treatment by the enlargement task force and should move rapidly in to negotiations on non-controversial areas such as statistics.

By contrast, the back-markers will be dealt with much more slowly by officials in the Commission's Directorate-General for external relations (DGIa) outside the enlargement task force. "We would do this through existing channels, such as the TAIEX technical assistance office, but in a more systematic way," explained an official.

This has created increasing concern among some of the less-favoured eastern Europeans that they were duped at Luxembourg, and are now being discriminated against.

In this, they are supported by Sweden and Denmark, which fear that if the division between first-wave candidates and others is made too early, leading second-wavers Latvia and Lithuania will see it as a diplomatic snub.

"Sweden is pushing for the process to be as equivalent as possible," said a senior Stockholm official. "We are aware that there are those who wish to differentiate earlier. We will be vigilant. The spirit of Luxembourg should be honoured."

On the other hand, Commission officials fear that if the common approach goes on for too long, the EU could waste valuable time and hold up the leading contenders' progress. "We think that we should go down to the bilateral level as soon as possible," explained an insider. "This sensitivity over differentiation is becoming rather overstated."

As things stand, all the applicant countries will meet together in the Brussels Borschette building for the first time in early April for in-depth briefings on the current body of EU law (the acquis communautaire) by Commission experts. "They will, for example, have two or three days on veterinary equivalence, and then move on to another topic," explained an official.

As soon as individual concerns start to arise, the candidates will be split up. "A common briefing is only useful up to a certain level. At some stage, countries will need to start talking about their specific problems and be advised whether they simply need technical adjustment or require serious negotiations," said the official. "I do not think they will want to have others watching at that time."

At that stage, Cyprus - which technically should be the least problematic applicant - will also start to raise specific political difficulties.

Although officials believe they can conduct the first stage of screening with the Nicosia-based government alone, they candidly admit that Turkish Cypriots will have to be involved later on.

"When it comes down to asking how a law will be implemented in northern Cyprus, we need to speak to northern Cypriot administrators," explained one.

But neither community on the island can agree on how to do this. An offer by the Greek half to involve northern 'civil society' actors has been firmly rejected, as have northern demands for complete parity in the negotiations.

Diplomats are now waiting for the dust to settle after last weekend's election before exploring the issue further, and say they do not expect much more clarity until the Union's Cardiff summit in June.

The screening process has also raised some difficult questions about what the EU acquis actually is. "While the Environment Directorate-General has a book which gives the rules in black and white, others are not so clear," admitted an official. "We face particular difficulties in justice and home affairs policy, where we are not even sure who should be doing the negotiating."

Overall, the lack of certainty over some of the most basic aspects of the enlargement process is causing serious concern amongst policy-makers. "With only a month to go, this really is getting quite ridiculous," said one Commission insider.