Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (Warsaw, 22 May 2002) Joint Statement

02.12.2014. 19:09

Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia

(Warsaw, 22 May 2002)
Joint Statement

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of ten Candidate Countries negotiating accession to the European Union - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - met in Warsaw on 22 May 2002 in order to discuss the final phase of negotiations and the prospects of the enlargement of the European Union.

The Ministers reaffirmed the determination of their countries to conclude accession negotiations by the end of 2002 with the objective of becoming Member States of the European Union by 1 January 2004. The Ministers expect the European Council in Seville to confirm this time-table and objective.

The Ministers agreed on the need for the Member States and the Candidate Countries to find mutually satisfactory solutions to the challenges that still lie ahead. They emphasised that the outcome of negotiations on agriculture and financial framework should be based on the compliance with four major requirements:

  1. all EU policies, including the structural and cohesion policy and the agricultural policy, should be fully extended to the new Member States;
  2. if any need for transitional arrangements or phasing-in periods is justified for financing structural and cohesion policy as well as agriculture, they should not go beyond the present financial perspective;
  3. equal conditions for farmers from current and new Member States are to be ensured in order to guarantee their competitive position;
  4. the net financial position of the new Member States after accession, including the first year of membership, should improve compared to the last pre-accession year.

In order to fulfil these requirements, adequate financial resources should be made available by the European Union for enlargement.

Respecting the above is essential not only for the quality of the ten countries' membership in the European Union but also for generating support for the Accession Treaty in referenda.

The Ministers, mindful of the fact that Bulgaria and Romania are also part of the negotiating process, expressed support for their efforts to become members of the European Union.

The Ministers expect that their countries will participate as Member States in the next Intergovernmental Conference which will be convened in accordance with the Declaration on the Future of the European Union.

The Ministers agreed that they will continue their exchange of views on the accession negotiations.


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