The Negotiation Procedure Substantive Negotiations
Cyprus and the European Union have so far negotiated 15
chapters in the context of the Substantive Negotiations. Ten chapters have closed
temporarily and do not require further negotiation. The other five chapters remain open
and will be negotiated in due course. Cyprus has submitted its position papers for a
further eight chapters which will also be negotiated this year. With the negotiation of
these chapters Substantive Negotiations are expected to cover within 1999 two thirds of
all chapters, which are 29 altogether.
Also, by the end of 1999 Cyprus will submit its position
papers on the six remaining chapters which are expected to be negotiated in the first half
of 2000.
The procedure for substantive negotiations on chapters
already screened began some five months after the initiation of the acquis screening
process in April 1998. The 6 leading candidate countries were required to submit by the
beginning of Authumn.
«position papers» on the following seven chapters which
had already been considered in the screening process:
In these 7 «position papers» Cyprus did not seek any
special arrangements or transitional periods, with the sole exception of
Telecommunications and information technologies. With respect to this chapter Cyprus had
requested (during that phase of negotiations) that a transitional period of one year (up
to 31 December 2003) be provided, in order to give more time for the full liberalization
of the telecommunications sector.
On 5 October 1998 the General Affairs Council of the EU
decided that substantive negotiations will begin with the six first wave leading applicant
states, on the 7 chapters referred to above. The positions of Cyprus were discussed at the
Cyprus Accession Conference, held at the level of Chief Negotiators, on 29 October 1998,
and at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 10 November 1998. Cyprus reserved its
position on the chapters on Telecommunications and Information Technologies and Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and consequently these chapters are still open for
consideration. The chapter on CFSP has remained open for all the applicant countries
mainly because the Amsterdam Treaty, which brings major changes in the Chapter, had not
been ratified at that time. In addition the chapter on CFSP continues to preoccupy
the EU itself and is continuously evolving.
For the other five chapters Cyprus and the EU have agreed
that no further negotiation is required for the time being.
The 15 EU member states established a common position,
whereby it was strongly emphasized that the agreements that have been successfully
achieved regarding the above chapters, should not be considered as final until such time
as a comprehensive agreement for all the chapters has been completed.
This negotiating principle was laid down by the EU
member-states in all the chapters under negotiation and concerns all the candidate
countries.
The EU also noted, with regards to Cyprus, that there has
been no response from the Turkish Cypriots with respect to the proposal for participation
by representatives of theirs in the negotiation process. The Cyprus-EU Intergovernmental
Conference where Cyprus accession negotiations are held may for these reasons return to
the chapters which have already been considered, at any time.
In the 2nd half of 1998, Cyprus also submitted its position
papers on the following 8 chapters:
These eight chapters were negotiated during the German
Presidency in the first half of 1996 in the context of substantive accession negotiations
at two Cyprus-EU intergovernmental conferences on 19 April and 19 May, at the level of
Negotiator, and at the intergovernmental conference on 21 June, at the Foreign Minister
level.
The chapter on Telecommunications and Information
Technologies, which had remained open at the previous negotiating phase, was also included
in these conferences. As regards this chapter, Cyprus informed the EU member-states of its
decision to withdraw its initial request for a transitional period of one year. Both
Cyprus and the EU reaffirmed that accession negotiations were proceeding normally and
agreed that further negotiations would not be required at that stage on the following
chapters:
Ôelecommunications and Information Technologies
By the end of the German Presidency, in the second half of
1999, Cyprus «closed» ten chapters. The following chapters remained open for further
negotiation:
Company Law, Free Movement of Goods, Competition Policy,
Fisheries and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The chapter on CFSP remains open for the same reasons that
had applied in the previous phase of negotiations, inspite of the fact that the Treaty of
Maastricht had in the meantime been ratified and come into force in May 1999.
The chapter on the Free Movement of Goods remains open
because it concerns a wide range of subjects and will remain under negotiation for some
time.
The chapter on Company Law remains open for further
negotiation of the question concerning the submission of annual accounts by shipping
companies and public access to this information.
The chapter on Competition Policy remains open because of
issues relating to the status of the Cooperative Credit Societies.
The chapter on Fisheries remains open for further
negotiation on supervision of Cyprus flag fishing vessels in the open seas.
Cyprus submitted its position papers on a further eight
chapters which are being negotiated during the Finnish Presidency in the second half of
1999. These concern the following chapters:
Details on the screening and negotiation process for each
chapter that has been considered are provided below. |