20.3.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 70/106

(2004/C 70 E/107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2472/03

by Marie Isler Béguin (Verts/ALE), Charles Tannock (PPE-DE), Alima Boumediene-Thiery (Verts/ALE), Patsy Sörensen (Verts/ALE) and Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(24 July 2003)

Subject: Regions adjacent to the enlarged Union's external borders

The current process of enlargement towards the east will, in the near future, alter the EU's political, economic and social makeup, as harmonisation, protection and transitional aid measures are applied in the applicant central European and Baltic countries.

Given their particular sensitivity to this process of economic alignment, during the successive enlargements of the EU the eastern border regions of the Member States (1) and, subsequently, the applicant countries, have benefited from special programmes and aid intended to guard against and mitigate imbalances and socio-economic repercussions within their borders. The western border regions of the European countries neighbouring the enlarged EU, such as Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, are primarily and intrinsically dependent on the interregional economy and trade with their many partners on the EU side of the border. These three eastern European countries, which form part of our continent's history and identity, are directly concerned by the implications of the EU enlargement process at all levels. The current Moldovan and Belarussian governments' predecessors clearly stated their wish to join the EU, and this has remained a priority for the current Ukrainian Government.

On 11 February 2003 the European Parliament adopted a report by Pedro Marset Campos on ‘relations between the European Union and Belarus: towards a future partnership’, in which it called on the Commission, ‘in order to prevent any cracks from appearing in the economic or social structure at the future eastern border of the enlarged EU and to curb smuggling and immigration, to develop Community financial programmes and support for the western regions of the new neighbours to the East, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, on the same scale as those already being implemented in the eastern regions of the neighbouring candidate countries’.

1.	What interregional programmes does the Council intend to implement with a view to providing support for symmetrical social and economic development on both sides of the EU's future eastern border so as to guard against a widening gulf between the new Member States and Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus?

2.	What preventive measures does it intend to take in order to protect cross-border trade in this region, a trade which, in Ukraine, accounts for one third of imports and provides a livelihood for 20 % of the population, and which is directly threatened by the introduction of visas on 1 July 2004?

Would the Council not agree that in order to maintain and foster the existing social and economic links between the applicant countries and these eastern European partners coordination between the PHARE and TACIS and Interreg and PHARE-CBC programmes should be optimised and, if necessary, reorganised?

(5 December 2003)

The European Council in Thessaloniki confirmed the EU engagement regarding its neighbours, whose stability and prosperity is inextricably linked to that of the EU, and looked forward to the work to be undertaken by the Council and the Commission in putting together the various elements of the neighbourhood policies. The European Council also endorsed the conclusions on Wider Europe — New Neighbourhood adopted by the Council on 16 June last.

In order to implement the conclusions of 16 June 2003, the Council invited the Commission to present proposals for Action Plans from 2004 onwards for all countries concerned, to examine measures to improve the interoperability between the different relevant instruments for support to the border areas as well as to present a communication on a possible new Neighbourhood Instrument. On 1 July last, the Commission adopted the Communication ‘Paving the way for a New Neighbourhood Instrument’, which provides a basis for developing the relevant instruments aimed at enhancing cross-border and regional/transnational co-operation on the external borders of the Union.

At present, the relevant bodies of the Council are considering possible actions for the period 2004-2006 aimed at significantly improving co-ordination between the various financing instruments concerned, while fulfilling existing commitments and obligations regarding the current programming period up to the end of 2006. These actions should be based on the existing legislative and financial framework for cross-border cooperation such as Interreg, PHARE-CBC, TACIS-CBC, CARDS and MEDA. For the period after 2006, the reflection will continue on the different options that the Commission described in its Communication, including the creation of a single New Neighbourhood Instrument.

(1) An action plan for regions bordering on applicant countries was adopted on 25 July 2001.