EU’s division over reforms overshadows enlargement process

by Anthony Manduca

The lack of agreement by European Union leaders over institutional reforms during a two-day summit in Biarritz in France last week has overshadowed the EU’s enlargement process.
The reforms, which deal with the EU’s qualified majority voting and the weighting of votes in the Council of Ministers, as well as the composition of the European Commission, are needed before any enlargement can take place. The EU is meant to come to an agreement over institutional reform at the end of year summit to be held in Nice this December; this would enable the bloc to be ready to accept new members by 2003. It is now too early to say whether something substantial will be achieved at Nice in terms of reform.
Long, stretched-out debates on issues limiting national vetoes, reshaping the EU’s executive Commission, and on transferring more powers to the EU, exposed long-standing divisions between the large and small countries. The small countries are somewhat concerned that they will lose some influence if the reforms go ahead and the EU swells to a bloc of 27 members.
However, French President Jacques Chirac said at the summit that the EU should not be divided between small and large countries. “In no circumstances should we fall into the trap of a division between large and small countries,” he said.
The EU commission, on the other hand, is still optimistic that an enlargement can come about quite soon. Last week, Enlargement Commissioner Gunther Verheugen said in Luxembourg that 2003 was a “realistic date” for the EU’s next enlargement. Many EU officials feel that enlargement will most probably come about in 2004 or 2005 and some EU leaders are urging an enlargement date to be established. Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, recently called for the EU to enlarge before the next European Parliament elections, implying January 2004.
The Financial Times last week quoted Commission officials as saying that some EU members, particularly the Nordic countries, consider 2003 feasible. “An enlargement then could encompass Malta, Slovenia, Estonia and Hungary, but Poland and the Czech Republic would probably not be ready then, they say. Accession for Cyprus in 2003 could also be difficult because of the division of the island,” the Financial Times said.