WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2848/97 by Laurens BRINKHORST to the Council. Institutional conditions for enlargement following the outcome of the IGC negotiations
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 158/15 (98/C 158/19) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2848/97 by Laurens Brinkhorst (ELDR) to the Council (13 September 1997) Subject: Institutional conditions for enlargement following the outcome of the IGC negotiations 1. Does the Council recall the following statement in the Conclusions of the European Council at Corfu (June 1994): The institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union must be created at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, which for that reason must take place before accession negotiations beginí? How does the Council reconcile this statement with the outcome of the Amsterdam summit, in particular 2. the view that á(. ) the way is now open for launching the enlargement process (. )í? Is the Council of the opinion that these institutional conditions have been met by the draft Treaty of 3. Amsterdam and the Protocol on enlargement? If the Reply to the above question is positive, can the Council indicate which improvements in the 4. institutional conditions justify this judgement? Is the Council of the opinion that the accession negotiations can be concluded without improvement in the 5. institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union? Answer (26 January 1998) As the Honourable Member reminds us in his question, the European Council agreed as early as 1994 - initially at its Corfu meeting and later in Essen - that the institutional conditions for ensuring the proper functioning of the Union must be created at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, which for that reason must take place before accession negotiations began. A number of reforms were adopted at the Intergovernmental Conference held in 1996 and 1997 and were incorporated in the Amsterdam Treaty, signed on 2 October 1997. In addition, a Protocol on the institutions with the prospect of enlargement of the European Union was annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty. That Protocol deals with points of institutional reform for an enlarged Union and provides for subsequent negotiations on reform. Lastly, at its meeting in Luxembourg on 12 and 13 December 1997, the European Council said that as a prerequisite for enlargement of the Union the operation of the institutions must be strengthened and improved in keeping with the institutional provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty. (98/C 158/20) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2863/97 by David Hallam (PSE) to the Commission (11 September 1997) Subject: Poultry Will the Commission outline what steps the European Union is taking to preserve stocks of pure bred poultry? Does the Commission consider that present EU legislation on welfare, disease control and international trade makes no distinctions identifying ápure-bredí specimens and other ápoultryí? Does the Commission plan to implement measures to support the small number of breeders dedicated to ensuring that relevant breeds and strains survive?