E.U. Enlargement

.-INTRODUCTION

European Union enlargement is fast approaching; negotiations have begun with the called fast-track candidates. Those countries, out of a possible 10, that are likely to qualify for EU membership first are the Czech Republic; Estonia; Hungary; Poland; and Slovenia. Waiting in the wings are Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania (as it can be seen in the map below)

In this map we can see all the countries that can be in the enlargement of the European union, in the first wave they are Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary Slovenia and Cyprus (country that we are going to speak during the essay),. In a second wave there will be countries such as Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. In the last place we can see to Turkey, which is only an applicant country.

The process of joining the EU is largely a technical one. All the candidates are receiving a great deal of help and instruction from the European Commission and from individual member states on what it means to be an EU member.

Globalization and EU enlargement will shape the future of Europe over the next decades. The eastward enlargement of the European Union is not only a political issue or an effort to reunite peoples sharing a common history, culture, and spiritual values. It is also a process through which Europe's firms seek to enhance their competitiveness by taking advantage of market proximity, lower labor costs in Central and Eastern Europe, and the natural resource endowments of the candidate countries.

2.-EUROPEAN UNION CRITERIA FOR ACCESSION

In June of 1993 at a meeting in Copenhagen, the European Council set forth five political, economic and social criteria that countries must meet in order to be admitted into the Union.

The five criteria are as follows:

. There must be a demonstration that their government is stable and guarantees democratic principles. This includes respect for the law, adherence to civil rights and respect for the rights of national minorities;

2. There must be a demonstration of a functioning market economy;

3. There must be a demonstration of the candidate country's ability to compete competitively with existing market forces within the Union;

4. There must be a demonstration that the candidate can meet the obligations of Union membership. This means that the country must be able to meet the political, economic and monetary requirements of the Union. In addition, there must be acceptance of the Union's legal history. This is often referred to as the `acquis communautaire ' and;

5. The candidate's admission must not in any way jeopardize the level of integrity the Union has already achieved.

All applicants for admission to the Union must meet these criteria. The European Commission has been asked by the European Council (this is not a body of the Union) to monitor and report on the progress candidate countries are making to meet the five criteria.

3.- EU-Cyprus relations

The EU and Cyprus signed an Association Agreement in December 1972 that was complemented by a Protocol concluded in 1987. It constitutes the legal framework for current EU-Cyprus relations. The EU is Cyprus' largest trading partner (51% and 57% of respectively Cyprus exports and imports in the year 2000). A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), consisting of members of the EP and of the Chamber of Representatives of Cyprus, was set up in 1991. It meets twice a year. Cyprus also benefits from regional and horizontal measures under the MEDA Program. The office of the Delegation of the European Commission was opened in Nicosia in May 1990.
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The Republic of Cyprus applied for membership in July 1990. In 1993 the Commission concluded that the application was made in the name of the whole island. In the expectation of significant progress in the UN talks for a settlement the Commission considered Cyprus as eligible for membership. On 6 March 1995, the General Affairs Council Conclusion confirmed Cyprus's suitability for membership and established that accession negotiations with Cyprus would start 6 months after the end of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). A structured dialogue was initiated in order to reveal areas where Cyprus had to make efforts to ...

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