As Austria takes over the Council Presidency, concern is mounting that the date for the enlargement of the EU will be put back as Cyprus and the countries concerned from Eastern Europe struggle to meet EU standards.
In presenting the programme of an Austrian Presidency for the first time, Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schussel emphasised to MEPs his country's commitment to furthering political stability and economic progress on the continent through enlargement. He was in no doubt as to the scale of the challenge of integrating the countries of Eastern Europe into the EU, and that the EU would have to make major reforms before enlargement could go ahead. As he put it: "Even the Union itself is currently not yet in any fit state to take in new members."
He was particularly referring to reform of the CAP and of the regional funds which take up the largest chunk of the EU's budget. Although the British Presidency succeeded in fixing a March 1999 deadline for agreement on reform, there is still no clear idea of how this will work out.
MEPs have expressed doubts about whether the Commission's plan to restrain future EU financing within present limits (set at 1.27 per cent of GDP) will allow the EU to assist the necessary economic development in the new countries. Indeed, the Austrian Presidency will be responsible for trying to reach agreement on financial guidelines for the 2000-2006 period, while richer member states seek to reduce their contributions.
Austria has a 1,400 kilometre border with four applicant member states, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and is worried that too early a date for enlargement could lead to a flood of immigrants from Eastern Europe seeking jobs in the nearest member state. One report estimates that it will take 25 years at present growth rates for incomes in the new states to reach just half the level of the present average in the EU.
Reassuring Europe's citizens that enough was being done to tackle international crime in an age of open borders was another priority, and here Dr Schussel looked forward to more police co-operation as Europol came on stream later in the year.
The Amsterdam Treaty should be ratified in the member states by the end of the year too, and will then come into force, and Dr Schussel recognised that this would involve closer co-operation between Council and the European Parliament over legislative issues. Indeed, the Treaty provides for a streamlining of legislative procedures and enables laws to be passed after just one reading if an agreement between Council and Parliament can be found at an early stage.
Parliament meanwhile pushed ahead with its own internal reforms to adapt to the new Treaty, preparing to smooth over differences and reach compromises with Council at an early stage. Amendments to legislation will be subject to much stricter rules and MEPs want national parliaments to provide an input to specific proposals for legislation.