Fifth meeting of the Association Council
between the European Union and Latvia
Joint press release
Brussels, 19 February 2002
1. The EU-Latvia Association Council held its fifth meeting on Tuesday 19 February 2002. The meeting was chaired by Mr Josep Pique i Camps, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union. Mr Indulis Berzins, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia, headed the Latvian delegation. Mr Friis Arne Petersen, Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and Mr Guenter Verheugen, Commissioner responsible for Enlargement, were also part of the European Union delegation (Troika format).
The Association Council welcomed the conclusions of the Goteborg and Laeken European Councils which stated that the enlargement process is irreversible, reaffirmed the "roadmap" as the framework for the successful completion of the enlargement negotiations, and confirmed the determination of the Union to bring the accession negotiations with those candidate countries that are ready to a successful conclusion by the end of 2002, so that these countries can take part in the European Parliament elections of 2004 as members.
Against this background, the Association Council provided a valuable opportunity to review Latvia's progress in the framework of the pre-accession strategy and to consider priorities for further work within the framework of the Europe Agreement.
2. The Association Council reviewed the state of Latvia's preparation for accession in the light of the latest Regular Report, issued by the European Commission in November 2001, the new Accession Partnership, adopted in January 2002, and the Latvian National Programme for Adoption of the Acquis, which was revised in July 2001.
With regard to Copenhagen political criteria, the Association Council welcomed the important steps taken by Latvia to promote the integration of non-citizens into society and encouraged continued efforts in this field, notably through the implementation of the Society Integration Programme. In this context, the Association Council took note of the initiatives aiming at amending the electoral law as concerns language requirements for the candidates. The Association Council also noted the Latvian Government's commitment to the reform of the public administration and of the judiciary, as well as to the fight against corruption.
The Association Council noted that Latvia is a functioning market economy and should be able to cope with the competitive pressure and market forces within the Union in the near term, provided that it makes further efforts in maintaining the pace of, and completing, its structural reforms. It noted that macro-economic stability has been preserved and high growth has been experienced during the past year, although further efforts should be made as regards unemployment. Furthermore, the Association Council encouraged Latvia to pursue a policy of fiscal discipline. The Association Council also acknowledged the measures introduced by Latvia to improve the business environment and underlined the need to continue this process.
The Association Council noted with satisfaction that Latvia has kept a steady pace in aligning its legislation with the EU acquis, in particular as regards the internal market, where progress has advanced further. It encouraged Latvia to build upon the progress already made in a number of areas and noted that efforts should be increased in other areas such as agriculture, energy, environment, regional policy and the co-ordination of structural instruments.
In the field of justice and home affairs, the Association Council welcomed the progress made on data protection, visas and border control and noted that the alignment needs to be completed for asylum and migration.
The Association Council welcomed the fact that the need to strengthen Latvia's administrative capacity has been recognised and efforts have been made in this regard. It encouraged Latvia to pursue these efforts, including through the allocation of adequate resources to the relevant institutions, bearing in mind that effective implementation and enforcement of the acquis are becoming increasingly important as accession approaches.
3. The Association Council noted that the implementation of the Europe Agreement is running smoothly and that no significant problems have been reported.
Concerning trade, the Association Council welcomed the implementation of the agreement on reciprocal trade concessions in the agricultural sector, and new negotiations conducted in this field, as well as the entry into force in December 2001 of its Decision on the liberalisation of trade in processed agricultural products. The Association Council also noted that the Additional Protocol to the Europe Agreement, which establishes new trade concessions for fishery products is in course of ratification by the Latvian side.
The Association Council noted that a Framework Agreement for a Protocol on European Conformity Assessment (PECA) has been initialled and that negotiations on sectoral annexes are ongoing.
The Association Council welcomed Latvia's participation, according to the provisions of the relevant Association Council decisions, in a number of Community programmes. Latvia's participation in further Community programmes should be facilitated and accelerated by the framework agreement, which was recently formalised by a decision of the Association Council. The Association Council also welcomed the formal participation of Latvia in the European Environment Agency since January 2002.
As concerns the pre-accession aid, the Association Council acknowledged that in 2001 a total of EUR 31.4 million was made available to Latvia under the PHARE National Programme, and an additional EUR 3 million was allocated for cross-border co-operation in the Baltic region. As regards ISPA, a total of EUR 48.05 million was committed in support of transport and environmental projects and for the SAPARD programme an indicative amount of EUR 22.2 million is available to Latvia. The Association Council welcomed the accreditation of Latvia's SAPARD agency in December 2001. The Association Council invited Latvia to make maximum use of these funds by ensuring that it has the necessary administrative and project management in place. In addition, the Association Council underlined the valuable contribution of the European Investment Bank in supporting priority projects in Latvia.
4. The Association Council exchanged views on some international issues of common interest. It welcomed the continued orientation of Latvia's foreign and security policy towards the EU and Latvia's continuing role in regional stability through its policy of good neighbourly relations and regional co-operation, including as a member of the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS). It welcomed Latvia's interest and involvement in the Northern Dimension of EU policies. The Association Council acknowledged the solidarity shown by Latvia in the fight against international terrorism and particularly welcomed its association to the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council of 21 September 2001, and to the joint declaration of the European Conference of 20 October 2001.
5. In conclusion, the Association Council expressed confidence in the development of relations within the Europe Agreement and emphasised the crucial role it is further called on to play until Latvia's accession to the European Union.
