“Fair and balanced”: these were the words with which Commissioner Günter Verheugen defined the proposals recently presented by the Commission in terms of financing EU enlargement, in particular as regards common agricultural policy and regional aid. For Romano Prodi and for the Commissioners Verheugen (enlargement), Fischler (agriculture) and Schreyer (budget) the bottom line consists, on the one hand, in respecting the budget forecasts for the period 2000-2006 contained in the financial forecast document “Agenda 2000”, and, on the other, recognizing that membership “can in no case represent a less favourable financial situation for the new members than that they experienced previous to membership”. The proposed financial deal will, according to the Executive, permit the release of the necessary funds to finance the administrative reforms of the candidate countries, the costs of the decommissioning of Slovak and Lithuanian nuclear power stations, and the extension to north Cyprus of the pre-membership structural instrument. In spite of the appeal made by Romano Prodi to examine the proposals as a whole, some countries notably Poland have already voiced their opposition to some aspects of the package. In particular, Warsaw is resolutely opposed to any suggestion that the new members will be asked to contribute to the EU budget from the very first financial year after joining.
