Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the figures for GDP per capita used by the Council of Ministers in its Luxembourg summit in respect of(a) Cyprus, (b) Hungary, (c) Poland, (d) Estonia, (e) the Czech Republic, (f) Slovenia, (g) Romania, (h) Slovakia, (i) Latvia, (j) Lithuania, (k) Bulgaria, (l) Turkey, (m) the Greek sector of Cyprus and (n) the Turkish sector of Cyprus. [22178]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonGDP per capita is not one of the criteria for EU membership. No GDP figures were submitted to the European Council in Luxembourg.
However, the Commission's Opinions of July 1997 on the Central European candidates contained details of GDP per capita based on 1995 figures. These were as follows (in ecu):
Number Hungary 3,340 Poland 2,360 Romania 1,200 Slovak Republic 2,470 Latvia 1,370 Estonia 1,850 Lithuania 930 Bulgaria 1,180 Czech Republic 3,490 Slovenia 7,240 The Commission's Opinion on Cyprus dates from 1993. But in the Agenda 2000 Communication of July 1997 the Commission quotes a more recent figure of 3,600 ecu for the north of the island, which is estimated to be a third of the figure for the south (i.e. 10,800 ecu).
The Commission's Opinion on Turkey dates from 1989, but a recent OECD report estimated 1995 GDP per capita as 2,075 ecu.