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PM statement on European Council meeting 12-13 December
[16 December 2002]
With permission Mr Speaker I shall make a statement about the European Council which took place in Copenhagen on 12 and 13 December.
Negotiations were successfully concluded to admit to membership of the European Union ten countries from Eastern and Central Europe, and Cyprus and Malta. We hope Romania and Bulgaria will be ready to follow in 2007.
Today, we take it for granted that the ten countries are all democratic nations living by the same values as the rest of Europe. But to anyone who remembers the Hungarian uprising of 1956, the Prague spring of 1968 or the imposition of military rule in Poland in 1981, the transformation of the countries concerned from tyranny to democracy and now to full EU membership is a huge achievement of which Europe and Britain can be proud.
We have long been the champions of European enlargement. The negotiations for membership began during the British Presidency of the European Union in 1998. I should like to pay tribute particularly to the Danish Presidency and the Commission, who have brought those negotiations to a successful conclusion.
Details of the final package are annexed to the conclusions of the meeting. Membership will bring immediate economic benefits to the candidates. It will create a single market of 450 million people. Our trade has increased nearly ten times as fast with the new countries as with the rest of the world. 14,000 UK firms export to East and Central Europe. Membership will boost the GDP of those countries by nearly 1.5%, and our own by up to nearly £2 billion.
The new member states are countries who have only recently rediscovered their national identity. They, like us, will want the further integration of the Union to be firmly rooted in the democratic accountability of the nation state. They shall be our allies in developing a European Union on those lines.
Mr Speaker, for some time Turkey has been knocking on the door of the European Union. The response of the European Union has rightly been to encourage a closer economic and political relationship but to say that full membership could only happen when Turkey met the necessary human rights criteria. In the last year, Turkey has made enormous strides by abolishing the death penalty and adopting a range of human rights laws. The new Turkish Government has promised a detailed legislative timetable to accelerate that progress. I believe it is massively in our interests to see Turkey as a modern democratic partner in Europe. For that reason, I have been urging our partners to offer Turkey a date to open negotiations for membership provided that the so called Copenhagen criteria are met. I am pleased to report to the House that that was achieved in Copenhagen. The Commission will report on Turkey’s progress and if, in December 2004, on a recommendation from the Commission the European Council decides that Turkey fulfils the Copenhagen political criteria, then accession negotiations with Turkey will open without delay.
This agreement has contributed to a better climate on the long-standing Cyprus dispute. The Secretary General of the United Nations and his Special Representative Mr De Soto, have been tireless in their efforts, as has our own Special Representative, Lord Hannay. A settlement remains within reach. I would urge all parties to continue their efforts to find a comprehensive settlement, which would allow a reunited Cyprus to join the European Union, as set out in the conclusions of the European Council.
We were also able to resolve differences between Turkey and Greece which have delayed the agreement between the European Union and NATO necessary to allow the implementation of a European Security and Defence Policy. We have now established the essential linkage with NATO which means that where NATO is not involved, the European Union can undertake peacekeeping operations using NATO planning, and the option of NATO headquarters and NATO assets as well. As a result, the European Union stands ready to take over the military operation in Macedonia in consultation with NATO and to lead a military operation in Bosnia following SFOR.
The European Council issued a Declaration on the Middle East in advance of the Quartet Ministerial meeting in Washington. The Quartet brings together the EU, US, Russia and UN, and its meeting on 20 December will take us a further step forward. But in the short term progress on the Israeli side will be limited by the general election campaign in Israel.
I believe that we should use the intervening period to maximise the chances of successful implementation of the roadmap once a new Israeli government is in place. This means continuing to do what we can to secure an end to violence, and to reverse the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
It also means ensuring that Palestinian reform is effective. To this end I can announce today that I am inviting leading Palestinians to come to Britain in January for a Conference along with members of The Quartet and other countries from the region closely involved in supporting the reform effort. It will discuss progress on reform and look at how the international community can help. It is in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis that these reform efforts succeed, so that we can make a reality of President Bush’s vision of two States - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security.
The European Council also issued a declaration on Iraq giving its full and unequivocal support for Security Council Resolution 1441 and urging Iraq to seize this final opportunity to comply with its international obligations.
Finally, we speak against the background of serious problems confronting our fishing industry. In the last 30 years, cod stocks in the North Sea have fallen from 250,000 tonnes, to 35,000 tonnes. If fishing continues at the present rate there is a risk of there being no viable cod fishing left. That is why the European Commission have suggested a reduction in fishing of 80 per cent, to enable the cod stock to recover to its absolute minimum viable level. Scientists believe that the safe minimum is 150,000 tonnes.
Mr Speaker, we share the objective of enabling the fish stocks to recover but we believe that much more moderate measures could still deliver recovery whilst maintaining a viable industry. I have talked extensively both with the President of the Commission at Copenhagen and with Commissioner Fischler previously. And Fishery Ministers are meeting in Brussels at the moment to reach agreement on the issue.
The UK fishing industry has benefited over the past year from £36 million funding to support adjustment through decommissioning. This includes the Scottish Executive’s action to help preserve fish stocks and ensure the industry’s long-term viability with a £27 million aid package. If there are further cuts arising from the ongoing negotiations in Brussels, the UK Government and the Scottish Executive stand ready to help the fishing communities affected. I will meet leaders of the industry in the New Year and financial assistance will be made available if necessary. But the priority for now must be to get a fair deal for our fishing industry.
This summit was a remarkable achievement. It redefines the future shape of Europe. It describes a future in which Europe is re-united, a Europe of proud and sovereign nation states, who work together, economically, socially and politically in their common interest. The prospect of Turkey’s membership has even more dramatic implications. A nation, which borders the Arab world, which is Moslem, which is nonetheless striking out on a path leading to liberal democracy, is set in time to join the traditional nations of Europe. The implications for the future of Europe are profound. In time all these new countries will be part of the European economy, part of monetary union, part of European defence, part of the European political system.
For us in Britain, the implications are equally profound. Given this new Europe taking shape, it is our job to be part of it, be a leading power within it, understand the degree to which our national interest is bound up with it. Isolation from Europe in this new world is absolute folly. That is why we shall continue to fight for our interests, but recognise that ultimately they are best served inside the EU not on its margins.
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