§ Lord Moynihanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made on the institutional and financing reforms, including reweighting of votes in the Council of Ministers, necessary for European Union enlargement. [HL3990]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalAn Inter-Governmental Conference will begin in early 2000 to discuss institutional changes needed before enlargement. It will focus on three main issues: Commission size, the reweighting of votes in Council and the possible extension of qualified majority voting.
The Agenda 2000 deal agreed at the Berlin European Council in March 1999 made financial provision for a first wave of applicants to join between 2000 and 2006 without an increase to the 1.27 per cent. Own Resources ceiling, though further reforms are needed before new member states can be fully integrated into the CAP. The WTO negotiations, likely to begin next year, will provide an opportunity for this. Substantial funds to provide assistance to new member states both before and after accession have also been made available.