92002E2510

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2510/02

by Hans-Peter Martin (PSE) to the Council

(3 September 2002)

Subject: Election campaign in an important Member State

On 22 September 2002, elections will be held in the Federal Republic of Germany, one of the most important Member States of the European Union.

In what areas and in what way is the current vigorous election campaign affecting the work of the Council?

What outstanding negotiations and decisions is the campaign delaying and/or hampering?

Are not in particular the negotiations for the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union being affected, especially the agricultural sector?

Reply

(19 December 2002)

As the Honourable Member's question suggests, the work of the Council, like that of any political institution, does not take place in a vacuum and can indeed be affected by political events taking place in a Member State. However, it does not seem possible to establish any precise causal link between an electoral campaign in progress in one State and the outcome of a specific discussion in the Council.

In any event, as regards the example mentioned by the Honourable Member, it should be recalled that the European Council undertook to conclude the enlargement negotiations by the time of the European Council in Copenhagen, in order to make it possible for the Accession Treaty to be signed in spring 2003.