Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The European Union enlargement process took another major step forward on October 3, 2005 when accession negotiations were opened with Turke !"#$ %&' and (roatia !")* %&' + ,fter ears of preparation decades, in the case of Turke - the two candidates formall opened the ne.t stage of the accession process+
3+ the abilit to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetar union and the administrati9e capacit to effecti9el appl and implement the ac<uis+
the content, principles and political objecti9es of the Treaties on which the Union is founded> legislation and decisions adopted pursuant to the Treaties, and the case law of the (ourt of Custice> other acts, legall binding or not, adopted within the Union framework, such as interinstitutional agreements, resolutions, statements, recommendations, guidelines> joint actions, common positions, declarations, conclusions and other acts within the framework of the common foreign and securit polic > joint actions, joint positions, con9entions signed, resolutions, statements and other acts agreed within the framework of justice and home affairs> international agreements concluded b the (ommunities, the (ommunities jointl with their :ember ;tates, the Union, and those concluded b the :ember ;tates among themsel9es with regard to Union acti9ities+
8n order to become a :ember ;tate, both countries will ha9e to accept the ac<uis of the Union+ ,s in all pre9ious accession negotiations, specific arrangements ma be agreed+ 8n all areas of the ac<uis, the candidate countries must bring their institutions, management capacit and administrati9e and judicial s stems up to EU standards, both at national and regional le9el+ This will allow them to implement the ac<uis effecti9el upon accession and, where necessar , to be able to implement it effecti9el in good time before accession+ ,t the general le9el, this re<uires a well@functioning and stable public administration built on an efficient and impartial ci9il ser9ice, and an independent and efficient judicial s stem+ 7etailed indications for each specific area of the ac<uis are gi9en in the guide to the main administrati9e structures re<uired for implementing the EU ac<uis !4"0 %&' +
The principle of the free mo9ement of goods implies that products must be traded freel from one part of the Union to another+ 8n a number of sectors this general principle is complemented b a harmonised regulator framework, following the /old approach6 2imposing precise product specifications5 or the /new approach6 2imposing general product re<uirements5+ The harmonised European product legislation, which needs to be transposed, represents the largest part of the ac<uis under this chapter+ 8n addition, sufficient administrati9e capacit is essential to notif restrictions on trade and to appl horiDontal and procedural measures in areas such as standardisation, conformit assessment, accreditation, metrolog and market sur9eillance+
Chapter
The ac<uis includes specific rules on electronic communications, on information societ ser9ices, in particular electronic commerce and conditional access ser9ices, and on audio@9isual ser9ices+ 8n the field of electronic communications, the ac<uis aims to eliminate obstacles to the effecti9e operation of the internal market in telecommunications ser9ices and networks, to promote competition and to safeguard consumer interests in the sector, including uni9ersal a9ailabilit of modern ser9ices+ ,s regards audio@9isual polic , the ac<uis re<uires the legislati9e alignment with the Tele9ision without 1rontiers 7irecti9e, which creates the conditions for the free mo9ement of tele9ision broadcasts within the EU+ The ac<uis aims to the establishment of a transparent, predictable and effecti9e regulator framework for public and pri9ate broadcasting in line with European standards+ The ac<uis also re<uires the capacit to participate in the communit programmes :edia Hlus and :edia Training+
Chapter
The agriculture chapter co9ers a large number of binding rules, man of which are directl applicable+ The proper application of these rules and their effecti9e enforcement and control b an efficient public administration are essential for the functioning of the common agricultural polic 2(,H5+ ?unning the (,H re<uires the setting up of management and <ualit s stems such as a pa ing agenc and the integrated administration and control s stem 28,(;5, and the capacit to implement rural de9elopment measures+ :ember ;tates must be able to appl the EU legislation on direct farm support schemes and to implement the common market organisations for 9arious agricultural products+
Chapter
This chapter co9ers detailed rules in the area of food safet + The general foodstuffs polic sets h giene rules for foodstuff production+ 1urthermore, the ac<uis pro9ides detailed rules in the 9eterinar field, which are essential for safeguarding animal health, animal welfare and safet of food of animal origin in the internal market+ 8n the ph tosanitar field, EU rules co9er issues such as <ualit of seed, plant protection material, harmful organisms and animal nutrition+
Chapter
$: Fisheries
The ac<uis on fisheries consists of regulations, which do not re<uire transposition into national legislation+ Iowe9er, it re<uires the introduction of measures to prepare the administration and the operators for participation in the common fisheries polic , which co9ers market polic , resource and fleet management, inspection and control, structural actions and state aid control+ 8n some cases, e.isting fisheries agreements and con9entions with third countries or international organisations need to be adapted+
Chapter
EU transport legislation aims at impro9ing the functioning of the internal market b promoting safe, efficient and en9ironmentall sound and userfriendl transport ser9ices+ The transport ac<uis co9ers the sectors of road transport, railwa s, inland waterwa s, combined transport, a9iation, and maritime transport+ 8t relates to technical and safet standards, securit , social standards, state aid control and market liberalisation in the conte.t of the internal transport market+
Chapter
(: 2nergy
EU energ polic objecti9es include the impro9ement of competiti9eness, securit of energ supplies and the protection of the en9ironment+ The energ ac<uis consists of rules and policies, notabl regarding competition and state aids 2including in the coal sector5, the internal energ market 2opening up of the electricit and gas
sources5, energ
and
Chapter
*: Taxation
The ac<uis on ta.ation co9ers e.tensi9el the area of indirect ta.ation, namel 9alue@added ta. 2J,T5 and e.cise duties+ 8t la s down the scope, definitions and principles of J,T+ E.cise duties on tobacco products, alcoholic be9erages and energ products are also subject to EU legislation+ ,s concerns direct ta.ation, the ac<uis co9ers some aspects of ta.ing income from sa9ings of indi9iduals and of corporate ta.es+ 1urthermore, :ember ;tates are committed to compl ing with the principles of the (ode of (onduct for &usiness Ta.ation, aimed at the elimination of harmful ta. measures+ ,dministrati9e co@operation and mutual assistance between :ember ;tates is aimed at ensuring a smooth functioning of the internal market as concerns ta.ation and pro9ides tools to pre9ent intra@(ommunit ta. e9asion and ta. a9oidance+ :ember ;tates must ensure that the necessar implementing and enforcement capacities, including links to the rele9ant EU computerised ta.ation s stems, are in place+
Chapter
The ac<uis in the area of economic and monetar polic contains specific rules re<uiring the independence of central banks in :ember ;tates, prohibiting direct financing of the public sector b the central banks and prohibiting pri9ileged access of the public sector to financial institutions+ :ember ;tates are e.pected to co@ ordinate their economic policies and are subject to the ;tabilit and Erowth Hact on fiscal sur9eillance+ 0ew :ember ;tates are also committed to compl ing with the criteria laid down in the Treat in order to be able to adopt the euro in due course after accession+ Until then, the will participate in the Economic and :onetar Union as a :ember ;tate with a derogation from the use of the euro and shall treat their e.change rates as a matter of common concern+
Chapter
-: 3tatistics
The ac<uis in the field of statistics re<uires the e.istence of a statistical infrastructure based on principles such as impartialit , reliabilit , transparenc , confidentialit of indi9idual data and dissemination of official statistics+ 0ational statistical institutes act as reference and anchor points for the methodolog , production and dissemination of statistical information+ The ac<uis co9ers methodolog , classifications and procedures for data collection in 9arious areas such as macro@economic and price statistics, demographic and social statistics, regional statistics, and statistics on business, transport, e.ternal trade, agriculture, en9ironment, and science and technolog + 0o transposition into national legislation is needed as the majorit of the ac<uis takes the form of regulations+
Chapter
The ac<uis in the social field includes minimum standards in the areas of labour law, e<ualit , health and safet at work and anti@discrimination+ The :ember ;tates participate in social dialogue at European le9el and in EU polic processes in the areas of emplo ment polic , social inclusion and social protection+ The European ;ocial 1und is the main financial tool through which the EU supports the implementation of its emplo ment strateg and contributes to social inclusion efforts 2implementation rules are co9ered under (hapter 22, which deals with all structural instruments5+
restructuring 2see also (hapter $ - (ompetition polic 5+ EU industrial polic mainl consists of polic principles and industrial polic communications+ EU consultation forums and (ommunit programmes, as well as communications, recommendations and e.changes of best practices relating to ;:Es aim to impro9e the formulation and coordination of enterprise polic across the internal market on the basis of a common definition of ;:Es+ The implementation of enterprise and industrial polic re<uires ade<uate administrati9e capacit at the national, regional and local le9el+
in place and, once the ,ccession Treat is signed, the acceding countr is granted acti9e obser9er status in the European Harliament and (ouncil as well as in (ommission committees+