ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHAT IT MEANS FOR ACCEDING COUNTRIES

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ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHAT IT MEANS
FOR ACCEDING COUNTRIES

• Directorate general Trade of the European
  Commission

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Contents

• The accession process
• The enlarged EU will remain open to the outside
  world
• Additional economic growth
• New Members to adopt the Common Commercial Policy

• The trade implications of Enlargement
• What it Means In Practice for the Industry of the
  New Member States
• An extended internal market
• The Common Commercial Policy

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1. The accession process
EU enlargement will secure political stability,
democracy and respect of human rights on the
European continent as a whole
Large economic benefits to be drawn from
enlargement both by Member states and third
countries
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The accession process
EU-15 is currently source of 46 of the worlds
foreign direct investment (FDI) gt 235 billion,
and hosts to 20.5 of the worlds FDI gt 119
billion
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2. The enlarged EU will remain open to the
outside world
Services
Goods
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3. Additional economic growth New Member
States have higher economic growth than present
EU Members
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After Enlargement New Member States will
maintain higher growth rates
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4. New Members to adopt the Common Commercial
Policy on 1 May 2004
NEW MEMBERS TO APPLY THE EUS COMMON COMMERCIAL
POLICY all EU bilateral agreements, the Common
external tariff and EU trade defence measures
10 New Members
THE ACCEDING COUNTRIES WILL TAKE ON BOARD EU
OPENNESS IN EXTERNAL TRADE overall reduction in
applied tariffs from 9 to 4
IN THE WTO, THE EU WILL SPEAK FOR 25 MEMBER
STATES instead of 15 The acceding countries will
take over the EUs multilateral trade commitments
and obligations
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5. The trade implications of Enlargement
New Member States to become part of a dynamic
trade bloc and a Customs Union
New Member States to benefit from cheaper imports
of industrial products lower duties with
adoption of EU tariffs facilitated trade with
third countries
New Member States to benefit from greater export
opportunities due to dense EU network of
bilateral agreements
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6. What It Means In Practice for the Industry in
New Member States
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7. An extended internal market Enlargement means
becoming part of a Single Business Environment
NO TRADE DIVERSION IS EXPECTED as a consequence
of this integration
THE LARGEST SINGLE MARKET IN THE WORLD
No more internal barriers Free movement of goods,
services, labour and capital Common border
protection
Trade in the enlarged Europe is already largely
stabilised following the implementation of the
Europe agreements
A SINGLE SET OF RULES DEEP INTEGRATION
All manufacturing companies produce goods
according to the same standards A product that
meets these standards can be sold anywhere on the
EU market of 25 countries
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with competition rules working to the benefit
of third countries...
EFFECTIVE REGULATORY AUTHORITIES TO MAKE THE
MARKET WORK
The functioning of competition is ensured by an
independent Competition Authority against
cartels, monopolist behaviour. It reviews state
aids
NO COMPETITION DISTORTIONS
Competition rules - in particular State aids
policing - prevent competition distortions, to
the benefit of third countries firms
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and adopting in the medium term a Single
Currency
TWO PHASES
I. New member states must demonstrate progress
towards a budget deficit of less than 3 of GDP,
a debt ratio of less than 60 of GDP, low
inflation and interest rates close to the EU
average. They also participate in the new
exchange-rate mechanism (ERM2)
II. Once this has been achieved, new members
will adopt the single currency and participate in
Euroland decision-making structures
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8.The Common Commercial PolicyWhat does the EU
aim to achieve?
Integrating developing countries into world trade
Priority to multilateralism sustainable trade
policy
Balancing market opening and rules setting within
WTO harnessing globalisation
Support to regional integration
Preserving some features of EU model

• Characteristics of EU agriculture within the CAP
• Public services
• Cultural diversity (audio-visual)
• Protection of environment

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The Common Commercial Policy How it works
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What is industrys role in defining the Common
Commercial Policy?

• The role of EU industry is crucial

• Taking part in the EU decision-making process
  through the Civil Society dialogue

Information providing information to the
Commission or to your authorities, monitoring
compliance with EU rules
Instruments direct contact, chats, business to
business dialogues, Market Access Database, Trade
Barriers Regulation etc.
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The Common Commercial Policy supports the
expansion of Member States industry on third
countries markets
Increased political weight
Providing business opportunities through trade
liberalisation negotiations in the World Trade
Organisation
Being part of the largest commercial power in the
world
Market Access Strategy
Direct assistance Market Access Database, Trade
Barriers Regulation
Indirect assistance negotiations with third
countries, bilateral agreements, MRAs, network of
preferential agreements...
TBR Contact Point Mr. Ignacio Garcia Bercero DG
Trade, European Commission Tel. [phone]
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defends Member States industry against unfair
commercial practices
Defence against unfair commercial practices
Current EU trade defence measures against New
Member States lapse
New Member States to apply EU trade defence
measures on 1 May 2004
Third countries cases against New Member States
are maintained but their industry benefits from
support of the Commission
New Member States to drop all current trade
defence cases on 1 May 2004
EU resorts to trade defence measures only when
necessary Protection is also ensured through
other instruments (TBR).