EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ««« « « « « 1999 « « 2004 ««« Session document FINAL A5-0255/2001 16 July 2001 Par 1 REPORT on the Czech Republic's application for membership of the European Union and the state of negotiations (COM(2000) 703 – C5-0603/2000 – 1997/2180(COS)) Part 1: Motion for a resolution and explanatory statement Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy Rapporteur: Jürgen Schröder RR\445965EN.doc PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 EN EN PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 2/97 RR\445965EN.doc EN CONTENTS Page PROCEDURAL PAGE ..............................................................................................................4 MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION .............................................................................................6 EXPLANATORY STATEMENT............................................................................................12 Published separately: Opinions on the Czech Republic.............................................................. Part 2 - A5-0255/2001 Global opinions.........................................................................................Part 3 - A5-0251/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0252/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0253/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0254/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0255/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0256/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0257/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0258/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0259/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0260/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0261/2001 ...............................................................................................................................A5-0262/2001 RR\445965EN.doc 3/97 PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 EN PROCEDURAL PAGE By letter of 13 November 2000, the Commission forwarded to Parliament its 2000 Regular Report on the Czech Republic's progress towards accession (COM(2000) 703 – 1997/2180(COS)). At the sitting of 15 March 2001 the President of Parliament announced that she had referred this report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy as the committee responsible and to all committees interested in delivering an opinion and she confirmed the referral at the sitting of 14 June 2001 (C5-0603/2000). The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy had appointed Jürgen Schröder rapporteur at its meeting of 23 September 1999 and had confirmed this at its meeting of 7 November 2000. It considered the Commission report and the draft report at its meeting of 20 March, 18 June and 9 July 2001. At the last meeting it adopted the motion for a resolution by 58 votes to 1. The following were present for the vote: Elmar Brok, chairman; Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, William Francis Newton Dunn and Catherine Lalumière, vice-chairmen; Jürgen Schröder, rapporteur; Alexandros Alavanos (for Pedro Marset Campos), Alexandros Baltas, Bastiaan Belder, The Lord Bethell, Andre Brie, Gunilla Carlsson, Michael Cashman (for Sami Naïr), John Walls Cushnahan, Rosa M. Díez González, Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos (for Gerardo Galeote Quecedo), Andrew Nicholas Duff (for Francesco Rutelli), Pere Esteve, Monica Frassoni (for Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit), Michael Gahler, Per Gahrton, Cristina García-Orcoyen Tormo (for Jacques Santer), Jas Gawronski, Vitaliano Gemelli (for Franco Marini), Alfred Gomolka, Vasco Graça Moura (for Alain Lamassoure), Bertel Haarder, Klaus Hänsch, Magdalene Hoff, Mary Honeyball (for Linda McAvan pursuant to Rule 153(2)), Christoph Werner Konrad (for Hans-Gert Poettering), Efstratios Korakas, Joost Lagendijk, Armin Laschet (for Hugues Martin), Emilio Menéndez del Valle, Philippe Morillon, Pasqualina Napoletano, Arie M. Oostlander, Reino Paasilinna (for Mário Soares), Guido Podestà (for Amalia Sartori pursuant to Rule 153(2)), Jacques F. Poos, Luís Queiró, Lennart Sacrédeus (for José Pacheco Pereira), Jannis Sakellariou, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez- Neyra, Elisabeth Schroedter, Ioannis Souladakis, Ursula Stenzel, Hannes Swoboda, Gary Titley, Johan Van Hecke, Geoffrey Van Orden, Paavo Väyrynen, Demetrio Volcic (for Jacques Santkin), Jan Marinus Wiersma, Matti Wuori, Christos Zacharakis and Sabine Zissener (for Ingo Friedrich pursuant to Rule 153(2)). The opinions on the Czech Republic of the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, and the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities will be published separately (part 2 - A5-0255/2001). The global opinions of the Committee on Budgets, the Committee on Citizen's Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 4/97 RR\445965EN.doc EN Energy, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs will be published separately (part 3 - A5-0251/2001 to A5-0262/2001). The report was tabled on 16 July 2001. The deadline for tabling amendments will be indicated in the draft agenda for the relevant part-session. RR\445965EN.doc 5/97 PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 EN MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION European Parliament resolution on the Czech Republic's application for membership of the European Union and the state of negotiations (COM(2000) 703 – C5-0603/2000 – 1997/2180(COS)) The European Parliament, – having regard to the Czech Republic's application for membership of the European Union submitted on 17 January 1996, pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, – having regard to the 2000 Regular Report from the Commission on the Czech Republic's progress towards accession (COM(2000) 703 – C5-0603/2000)1, – having regard to the 2000 Enlargement Strategy Paper on progress towards accession by each of the candidate countries presented by the Commission (COM(2000) 700)2, – having regard to the decisions taken by the European Council, notably at Copenhagen (21-22 June 1993), Helsinki (10-11 December 1999), Nice (7-9 December 2000) and Gothenburg (15-16 June 2001), – having regard to the 1999 Accession Partnership for the Czech Republic, – having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2000 on the Czech Republic's membership application to the European Union and the state of negotiations3 – having regard to its resolution of 31 May 2001 on the Treaty of Nice and the future of the European Union4; – having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure, – having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A5-0255/2001), A. whereas the Nice European Council removed the institutional obstacles to the Czech Republic's accession, B. whereas, following the strong signal put out by the Göteborg summit, continuing major efforts are required on the part of the Czech Republic so that it can successfully complete its accession strategy by 2004, thereby enabling its citizens to take part in the next European Parliament elections in 2004, 1 Not yet published in OJ C. 2 Not yet published in OJ C. 3 Texts adopted of that Sitting, Item 6 4 Texts adopted of that Sitting, Part 1, Item 4 PE 302.021/fin./Part 1 6/97 RR\445965EN.doc EN C. whereas the survival of small owner-proprietor agrarian enterprises has been one of the vital bases of the preservation of biodiversity in many of the candidate countries, D. having regard to the resolution of the European Parliament on the Treaty of Nice and the future of the European Union in general, and in particular to paragraph 4 thereof, the number of Members representing the Czech Republic in the European Parliament should be changed to 22, which would not have a detrimental effect on the institutional balance achieved in Nice, Political criteria 1. Welcomes the fact that constitutional stability is assured in the Czech Republic, that the rules of democracy are being followed and that the Czech Republic is thus continuing to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria; 2. Notes with satisfaction that the Czech Republic is continuing to take positive steps to improve the situation of the Roma in society, employment, public services, healthcare and the educational system; calls for active participation of local authorities and the population concerned in evaluation of programmes and projects; acknowledges that the