Policy documents related to third countries

The enlargement of the European Union will affect third countries in a number of ways, in particular developing countries through changes in trade and investment flows, development co-operation aid, agricultural issues and migration opportunities. The effects of the enlargement for third countries are usually not included in the policy documents of the European Union’s institutions, but there are a few specific official publications on the issue. In the publications the European Union’s institutions emphasise the benefits for third countries.

Publications

The documents listed below give an outline of the position of the European Union regarding the effects of enlargement on third countries. They are organised into two groups:

• Policy documents for third countries in general;
• Policy documents for third countries regarding agriculture;
• Policy documents regarding development co-operation.

General

Trade and Enlargement – Why is enlargement good news for third countries? European Commission, DG Trade, March 2003

In this short outline the European Commission (DG Trade) discusses the trade benefits of enlargement for third countries. According to the document third countries will fully benefit from the enlargement of the European Union. The Commission gives several reasons. The new member countries will apply common EU standards which will simplify the dealings of third countries with the candidate states. In addition, the new members states will, upon accession, apply the Community Common Customs Tariff (CCT). The CCT for industrialised products is on average 3.6 percent, which is lower than most tariffs applied in the candidate countries before accession. Other benefits for third countries are, among others, related to enhanced levels of intellectual property rights (IPR) and of commitments regarding government procurement. The Commission advises those WTO member countries that claim enlargement will negatively affect their trade relations with the new member states to submit their case to WTO compensation mechanisms.

For the document click here.

Trade and Enlargement – A Sectoral Overview, European Commission, DG Trade, March 2003

This document is originally written for third countries, which have concluded Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with the EU (i.e. Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Israel, Japan, Switzerland and the US). However, the sectoral overview which is given in the document will also be valuable for other countries. The document in particular discusses the trade effects of enlargement on third countries for steel, shipbuilding, textiles and clothing, audio-visual services and agriculture. For each sector specific issues resulting from enlargement are briefly explained.

For the document click here.

Enlargement and External Economic Relations, European Parliament, Task-Force Enlargement, Briefing No. 37, 1999

The document underlines the need for the new Member States to put their economic policies in line with those of the European Union. This means, among others, that the national tariffs which are usually higher than the EU tariffs will be lowered. In this way, the briefing claims that the accession of the candidate countries will have a positive effect upon the global economy through the creation of trade opportunities.

For the full document click here.

Agriculture

Prospects for agricultural markets 2002-2009, European Commission, DG Agriculture, 2002, Brussels

This document provides information regarding the developments of agricultural markets. Sectors are reviewed separately. The first two chapters discuss the situation within the European Union and in the Central and Eastern European Countries, whereas the third chapter gives an indication on the world markets. The Common Agricultural Policy and the enlargement process are part of the forecasts of the agricultural sectors.

For the full document click here.

There are two earlier versions of the prospects for agricultural markets: Prospects for agricultural markets 2001-2008 and Prospects for agricultural markets 2000-2007

Development co-operation

Publications

The ODA of the EU after the next enlargement – Basic trends, financial flows and opportunities for entrepreneurs and NGOs, Granell, Principal Adviser – European Commission, Speech, 2002, Prague

This speech addresses the impact of enlargement on development co-operation. It gives a short overview of the development co-operation policies of the European Union and continues to explain how the candidate countries will have to adopt these policies. An example is the EU commitment following the 2002 Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development to increase the amount of ODA from the current 0.33 percent of GDP to 0.39 percent in 2006. The speaker believes that the new member states will need transition periods to achieve these levels of ODA. The Czech Republic, for example, aims to achieve 0.1 percent of GDP in ODA flows on accession in 2004. Other candidate states are still receivers of official assistance themselves. As for the European Development Fund (the main financing instrument of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the ACP countries), the speaker believes that the new member states will not be able to join the 10th EDF, which will start in 2007. Finally, the speaker attempts to explain the role of private enterprises and NGOs in the development policies of the new member states. The candidate countries still lack experience in this perspective.

For the document click here.

The impact of the EU enlargement, Theodorakis, Deputy Director General DG Development. Speech during EU-ACP Seminar on The impact of the EU enlargement, 2002, Brussels

In this speech the author discusses the effects of EU enlargement on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. He underlines the benefits of enlargement for the ACP countries such as the implementation of development co-operation policies in the candidate countries along the lines of EU agreements, the joining of the new member states in the Cotonou Agreement and participation in the General System of Preferences and in the ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) initiative. The author also points to the challenges for the new candidate states. They have limited experience with development co-operation and with a larger number of EU member states more efforts are needed to ensure coherence among EU policies, for example development co-operation policies and agricultural policies. In the opinion of the EU, the Cotonou Agreement and the negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements with the ACP countries will provide opportunities for both ACP countries and the EU to consult each other on EU enlargement. 

For the document click here.

Links

DG Development’s section on Development co-operation in an enlarged European Union

This web-site forms a welcome addition to the limited number of publications released by the EU on the effects of enlargement on developing countries. It lists speeches from EU officials on the topic and also links to past and future event related to EU enlargement and developing co-operation.