Accession treaties and transitional periods for the new Member States
Membership and transitional periods
The ten new Member States that acceded on 1 May 2004 are now fully fledged members of the European Union. This means in principle that EU law – the acquis communautaire – is now applicable in these countries, too. In certain areas, however, transitional periods for the application of relevant EU rules and regulations have been agreed with the new Member States.
Participation in EU institutions and the debate on the Constitution
The new Member States participate on an equal basis in EU institutions and committees. The number of deputies every new Member State elects to the European Parliament as well as its vote weighting in the Council takes into account the ratio of its population to that of the EU as a whole. As of 1 May 2004, every new Member State nominated one Commissioner, all of whom served as commissioners without portfolio until the new Commission took office in November 2004.
The single internal market
On joining the EU, the new Member States became part of the single internal market. This means that:
- Free movement of goods, introduced already to a considerable extent under the Europe Agreements, is now fully applicable to the new Member States.
- There is full freedom of movement for people. Citizens from both the old and the new Member States can travel freely throughout the enlarged European Union. The sensitive area of freedom of movement of workers remains an exception, however. For a phased transitional period of up to seven years the old Member States may retain their national arrangements in this area (2+3+2 model), although after two years the need for them must be reviewed. After five years it is intended that the acquis communautaire should be generally applicable. Only in the event of actual or threatened severe dislocation of the labour market may Member States retain their national arrangements for a further two years at most. Decisions regarding the extension of transitional arrangements lie with the individual governments alone, and are not subject to approval by the EU. With the exception of Malta and Cyprus, these transitional arrangements apply to all new Member States. On completion of the first phase on 30 April 2006, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria, as well as Belgium and France (with strictly limited exceptions in specific sectors) extended their transitional arrangements.
- All the new Member States now benefit from the freedom to provide services. Transitional periods remain in place, however, for the cross-border provision of services.
- There is also free movement of capital to, from and within the new Member States. However, for a transitional period of seven years – in the case of Poland twelve years – certain transactions such as the purchase of agricultural and forestry land remain subject to national regulations in all new Member States with the exception of Malta, Cyprus and Slovenia. Special rules apply for the lease of land by self-employed farmers.
Border controls
Since the new Member States are now part of the internal market, their goods are no longer subject to border controls anywhere within the EU. However, while freedom of movement for all EU nationals became a reality on accession, identity checks on travellers crossing the internal borders between the old and the new Member States will continue. It will be possible to dispense with them only once the new Member States can demonstrate that the security of their borders with non-EU countries – the EU's new external border – meets the standards required under the Schengen Agreement.
Agriculture
Direct payments to farmers in the new Member States are being phased in over a ten-year period, starting at 25% of the EU level in 2004 and reaching 100% in 2013. The common agricultural market gives the new Member States fair quotas for their farm produce without raising concerns about over-production. They also receive about 50% more funds on a per-capita basis for rural development than the old Member States.
Finances
For the period 2004 to 2006, EU spending (payment appropriations) on the new Member States will amount to 25.14 billion euro. Since the new Member States will contribute 14.74 billion euro to the EU budget over this three-year period, the net cost to the EU budget will be 10.4 billion euro, of which Germany will assume some 2.3 billion euro spread over three years. By comparison, the cost of Germany unification currently amounts to over 50 billion a year.
Introduction of the euro
To join the euro area, the new Member States must fulfil the Maastricht Criteria and thus also have participated in the exchange-rate mechanism for at least two years. The introduction of the euro in the new Member States is therefore the final step in a multi-stage convergence process, which even the countries that have made the most progress to date will be able to achieve only in the medium term.
Cyprus
The efforts of the UN Secretary-General to persuade the divided island's two communities – the Greek and the Turkish Cypriots – to reach a political settlement prior to the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU on 1 May 2004 ended in failure. Although both sides are in principle prepared to negotiate further, there has been no movement on contentious key issues. On 24 April 2004 the final version of the Secretary-General Annan's plan was put to a referendum: some 65% of the Turkish Cypriots approved the plan and some 76% of the Greek Cypriots voted against it.
Following the accession of the Republic of Cyprus, the application of the acquis communautaire to the northern part of the island was suspended until such time as the European Council unanimously decides otherwise. The Council has agreed, however, to strengthen links between the northern part of the island and the EU by providing financial support facilitating trade relations. Should a political settlement eventually be achieved, the Council can by unanimous vote amend as appropriate the modalities regarding the country's accession.
Last updated 23.06.2006