CULTURA INSTITUCIONAL (PCI)

3. ARTICLES

Fill in the blank with the appropriate article or leave it blank to indicate that no article is necessary.

It was concern about their security that brought …… countries of ……Western Europe together in …… 1950s to form what eventually became …… European Union (EU). …… so-called Schuman Declaration (May 9, 1950) laid out …… principles of democratic European integration underpinning …… present EU. After signing …… Treaty of Paris (1951), by which …… European Coal and Steel Community (ESCS) was established, …… founding members, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, and …… Netherlands, signed …… Treaty of Rome (1957) and estab- lished …… European Economic Community (EEC), and …… European Atomic Energy Community.

According to …… EEC 1957 Treaty, …… purpose of …… new Community was to promote …… harmonious development of economic affairs, …… increased stability, …… accelerated raising of …… living standard, and closer relations between …… six states belonging to it. This was to be achieved by establishing …… common market and approximating …… economic policies of member states. …… Treaty also postulated “Four freedoms”: …… free movement of goods, persons, services and capi- tal, as well as providing for common agriculture and transport policies, …… customs union, free competition, and legal machinery to resolve disputes and to harmonise …… legislation of member states.

4. PREPOSITIONS

Supply the missing prepositions.

The 15 full members ……… 1996 were Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Austria, Finland, and Sweden entered the EU ………

Jan. 1, 1995; Norway was scheduled to join ……… the same time, but Norwegian citizens ……… a November 1994 referendum voted ……… membership. Some 70 nations ……… Africa, the Caribbean, and the Paci c are af liated ……… the Lomé Convention.

5. TENSES

Fill in the blank spaces in the text with correct verb forms. A negotiated enlargement

The candidates ……… (ENTER) into the negotiations with the EU ……… (SEEK) agreement as to when and how each of them can join. The nego- tiations ……… (TAKE PLACE) between ministers from the EU member states and the candidate countries, and they ……… (EXPECT) to lead to accession trea- ties. As each treaty ……… (DRAW UP), it will be submitted to the EU Council of Ministers for approval and to the European Parliament for assent, and then to the Member States and to the candidate countries for national rati cation in line with na- tional procedures.

Accession negotiations ……… (OPEN) on 31 March 1998 with six coun- tries: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. In December 1999, at its summit in Helsinki, the European Council ……… (DECIDE) to open accession negotiations with six further candidates: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, and the Slovak Republic; they ……… (BEGIN) on 15 February 2000.

Negotiations ……… (CONDUCT) individually, and the pace of each nego- tiation ……… (DEPEND) on the degree of preparation by each candidate coun- try and the complexity of issue to be solved. Each candidate ……… (JUDGE) on its own merits.

There ……… (BE) no automatic acceptance of candidates into the negoti- ating process. For instance, the Helsinki Council ……… (MAKE) the opening of negotiations with Bulgaria “conditional upon a decision by the Bulgarian authorities, before the end of 1999, on acceptable closure dates for units 1-4 in the Kozloduy nu- clear power plant, and upon a con rmation of the signi cant progress accomplished in the economic reform process”.

In order ……… (HELP) the candidate countries prepare for EU mem- bership, the EU ……… (PROVIDE) assistance and ……… (PROMOTE) investment in the candidate countries to stimulate change so that the candidates can adapt more rapidly to EU requirements. Some examples of EU assistance projects ……… (INCLUDE): improving safety at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, with training and with studies on how to detect leaks early or on the triggering of alarms; establishing environmental management and warning systems along the Danube, ……… (COORDINATE) the  ght against the pollution across the doz- en countries it ……… (FLOW) through; training customs staff at Tallinn port so they can speed handling while raising the quality of controls; supporting women in business in the rural areas of Lithuania, cutting unemployment and setting up contacts and training, etc.

The EU also ……… (PROMOTE) large-scale infrastructure projects, through co- nancing arrangements with the European Investment Bank. For instance, the EIB’s loans in central and eastern Europe amounted to 2.17 billion euro in 1999 alone, and it ……… (HAVE) a loan potential of 16 billion euro for 2000-07 in these countries.

REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The success of the EU and the values it is based on have attracted successive waves of new members from countries with a wide variety of economic and political backgrounds. Each successive enlargement has brought bene ts to Europe’s citizens, new opportunities for European businesses, and wider acceptance of European norms in  elds ranging from consumer and environmental protection to political rights and social provision. In the coming years, other countries may be expected to submit ap- plications for membership of the EU. The EU intends to be ready to welcome the  rst new Member States as from the end of the 2002. But it is too early to say when this phase of enlargement, with the 13 current candidate countries will be completed, or when negotiations with others may commence.

The EU is now in the process of signing stability and association agreements with the countries of the western Balkans too, and it has held out to them the prospect of pos- sible EU accession at a future date under certain conditions. In consideration of the fore- going, give your opinion on when and how our country can join the EU. To answer this question you will need to know more facts about the issue. Some are offered below. More information on the subject can be found on the web site of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement: europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement.

1. The most important elements of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) are: - trade liberalisation,

- political dialogue,

- stabilisation and association agreement (SAA), and -  nancial assistance.

2. Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) criteria are as follows: - public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP,

- public de cit must not exceed 3% of GDP

- in ation must not exceed the average of in ation of the three best performing countries plus 1.5%,

- long-term interest rates must not exceed the average of the three best in ation performers plus 2%,

- central bank independence, - currency stability.

3. The Acquis: For the purposes of the negotiations for membership, the body of EU

rules is divided into 31 chapters: 1. Free movement of goods

2. Freedom of movement for per- sons

3. Freedom to provide services 4. Free movement of capital 5. Company law 6. Competition policy 7. Agriculture 8. Fisheries 9. Transport policy 10. Taxation

11. Economic and monetary union 12. Statistics

13. Social and policy employment 14. Energy

15. Industrial policy

16. Small and medium-sized under- takings

17. Science and research

18. Education and training

19. Telecommunications and infor- mation technologies

20. Culture and audiovisual policy 21. Regional policy and coordination

of structural instruments 22. Environment

23. Consumers and health protection 24. Cooperation in the  elds of jus-

tice and home affairs 25. Customs union 26. External relations

27. Common foreign and security policy

28. Financial control

29. Financial and budgetary provi- sions

30. Institutions 31. Other

Enhancing your communication skills

To test your understanding and to enhance your thinking and communication skills:

1. Write an essay of between 250 and 350 words on each of the subjects after an-