BRUSSELS, Oct 25: Setting the scene for European Union enlargement in 2004, EU leaders reached an agreement on Friday on slashing costly farm subsidies and promised billions of euros in aid to 10 former communist nations which are set to become future members of the bloc.
“We have taken a major step forward towards a historic agreement on enlargement,” said Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who hosted the Brussels meeting.
“This is a great day for Europe,” said a jubilant German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
EU leaders will use their summit in Copenhagen in December to finalize the EU accession of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Agreement in Brussels came after EU leaders quarrelled over the sensitive issue of farm spending which eats up 95 billion euro annual budget.
Leaders agreed agriculture expenditure — to be frozen at 42 billion euros from 2006 — would grow at a 1 per cent annual fixed inflation rate thereafter.
This satisfied Germany which had warned earlier that it would not pay any more to fund European agriculture. France also claimed satisfaction, saying the EU farm sector would remain “dynamic”. New members will be offered 23 billion euros over the 2004-2006 period to help modernise their economies.
The summit also pledged lump sum compensation for eastern European countries which could end up paying more in the EU budget than they receive in assistance.
The summit saw the re-emergence of a Franco-German alliance which all EU countries recognise is crucial for Europe’s prosperity and development.
“The German-French relationship is central for European development,” said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder while Chirac insisted: “Without French and German agreement Europe comes to a standstill.”
No target date for Bulgarian and Romanian membership was given at the summit but leaders have said they back 2007 as a roadmap date.
The communique did not mention a date for starting accession talks with Turkey but diplomats said Ankara would be promised a so-called “date for a date” in 2003, indicating to Turkey just when negotiations would begin.
This could still be years away.
But diplomats said the summit had seen a “strategic shift” in EU attitudes towards Turkey with Germany, France and Britain now very much in favour of giving Ankara firm assurances that it was on the road to EU membership.
