§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if firm dates have been set for EU membership for(a) Cyprus and (b) Turkey. [307]
§ Peter HainNo firm date has been set for the accession of any candidate country to the EU. However, the Gothenburg European Council agreed that, provided progress towards meeting the accession criteria continues at an unabated pace, the road map for enlargement should make it possible to complete negotiations by the end of 2002 for those candidates that are ready. The objective is that they should participate in the European Parliament elections of 2004 as members. The Government fully support this approach.
88WBoth Turkey and Cyprus are candidates for the EU. Cyprus is well advanced in its negotiations, having provisionally closed negotiations in 22 out of the 31 chapters of the EU's acquis communautaire. Turkey has yet to begin negotiations, as it has not fulfilled the Copenhagen political criteria (covering issues such as human rights, the rule of law and respect for and protection of minorities). The Government look forward to further progress by Turkey, in line with the priorities set out in the EU's Accession Partnership with Turkey.
§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for discussions with his counterparts from(a) Latvia, (b) Lithuania, (c) Bulgaria, (d) Estonia, (e) Romania, (f) the Czech Republic, (g) Slovakia, (h) Poland and (i) Hungary on EU enlargement. [314]
§ Peter HainMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met a number of his counterparts from the Central European EU applicant countries at the European Council meeting in Gothenburg on 15–16 June. The Government attach the utmost importance to the enlargement of the EU and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I intend to expand our dialogue with the applicants in the coming months. Programmes of inward and outward visits are under discussion.