EU to admit new members around turn of the century

THE most developed of the states currently seeking to join the EU are likely to be welcomed into the union as full members at around the turn of the century, the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, said yesterday.

Mr Spring, addressing the European Finance Convention in Dublin, said that enlargement negotiations are likely to begin in earnest in early 1998, six months after the conclusion of the Inter-Govermental Conference (ICG).

It had not yet been decided whether negotiations should formally open with all applicants simultaneously and then proceed according to the state of readiness of each applicant, or whether negotiations should open only with those states most ready for membership.

Mr Spring said the Irish presidency was aware of the concern and anxiety of the most developed applicants to proceed rapidly towards accession.

"We are also aware of the concerns of the less developed amongst the associated states to ensure that their citizens are not discouraged from continuing their efforts to meet the criteria for membership, with all the sacrifices which such efforts entail."

Decisions on which states are most prepared for membership and the format the accession negotiations will take, will follow the completion of the ICG in June of next year.

"Assuming that the enlargement negotiations begin in earnest early in 1998, it is likely that the most advanced applicants will conclude negotiations around the turn of the century." Acceding countries would become full members shortly thereafter.

Cyprus has already received a positive response from the European Commission concerning its application for membership of the union. It had been hoped that the initial phase of accession negotiations would coincide with the beginning of negotiations with Cyprus and Malta six months after the conclusion of the ICG.

"Malta has since indicated that it does not wish to pursue its membership application." Malta's accession negotiations were at the moment "essentially suspended", Mr Spring said.

Mr Colm Larkin told the convention that a "significant number" of current objective 1 regions - the existing poorer regions - will no longer fall under 75 per cent of the EU average per capita GDP, "and their funding should consequently be reduced". At present some 50.6 per cent of the EU population is eligible for assistance. This was spreading funds too thinly and a figure of "say 35 per cent" would be more realistic, Mr Larkin said.