The new Bulgarian government has pledged to quicken the pace of negotiations for EU accession.
"We have set ourselves the task of opening seven of the remaining 10 negotiation chapters during the Belgian presidency of the European Union," said Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria's chief negotiator with the European Union, in a National Radio interview on Sunday. This was her first public statement since the government appointed her on Thursday.
"Bulgaria is hoping to open the Freedom of Movement of Persons, Taxation Policy, and Financial and Budgetary Provisions chapters," Kuneva said. Ten of the 21 chapters opened by Bulgaria have already been closed. Sofia has presented its positions for negotiation of all 26 chapters.
Kuneva confirmed the former government's ambition of completing negotiations by 2004. "We will try not just to finish negotiations, according to that schedule, but to intensify our relations with European institutions as much as possible," she said.
In relation to the "tandem formula" suggested by visiting Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase earlier last week, Kuneva explained that Bulgaria upholds the formula of an individual approach that is shared by European Union institutions. "Understandably, our partners expect us to be involved in regional efforts and, of course, Bulgaria must share these efforts," she said. The negotiator noted that this was one of the key elements of the previous government's policy.
She described the desire to intensify Balkan initiatives and boost investments in the region as "normal and recommendable.
"It would be absurd to withdraw from EU-funded programs in this direction," she said. Kuneva also stressed the need for continuity in the work of the teams in charge of EU membership talks. "Developing European integration must be considered a state priority rather than a party priority," she said.
Growth surged last year in the 13 countries seeking membership to the European Union. The EU's statistical office reported last week that the increase was a combined rate of five per cent. Eurostat said the jump in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 ranged between 1.6 percent for Romania and 7.2 per cent in Turkey. In 1999, five of the 13 candidate countries experienced negative growth, though in 2000 they all were positive.
The combined five per cent growth figure for the candidate countries compares with 3.3 per cent for the 15 EU countries. In terms of purchasing power, GDP per capita was highest in Cyprus at 82 per cent of the EU average, and Slovenia, at 71 per cent. A comparison of EU member countries shows that the Greek GDP was 68 per cent of the EU average, Portuguese was 74 per cent and Spanish was 81 per cent.
"We have set ourselves the task of opening seven of the remaining 10 negotiation chapters during the Belgian presidency of the European Union," said Meglena Kuneva, Bulgaria's chief negotiator with the European Union, in a National Radio interview on Sunday. This was her first public statement since the government appointed her on Thursday.
"Bulgaria is hoping to open the Freedom of Movement of Persons, Taxation Policy, and Financial and Budgetary Provisions chapters," Kuneva said. Ten of the 21 chapters opened by Bulgaria have already been closed. Sofia has presented its positions for negotiation of all 26 chapters.
Kuneva confirmed the former government's ambition of completing negotiations by 2004. "We will try not just to finish negotiations, according to that schedule, but to intensify our relations with European institutions as much as possible," she said.
In relation to the "tandem formula" suggested by visiting Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase earlier last week, Kuneva explained that Bulgaria upholds the formula of an individual approach that is shared by European Union institutions. "Understandably, our partners expect us to be involved in regional efforts and, of course, Bulgaria must share these efforts," she said. The negotiator noted that this was one of the key elements of the previous government's policy.
She described the desire to intensify Balkan initiatives and boost investments in the region as "normal and recommendable.
"It would be absurd to withdraw from EU-funded programs in this direction," she said. Kuneva also stressed the need for continuity in the work of the teams in charge of EU membership talks. "Developing European integration must be considered a state priority rather than a party priority," she said.
Growth surged last year in the 13 countries seeking membership to the European Union. The EU's statistical office reported last week that the increase was a combined rate of five per cent. Eurostat said the jump in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000 ranged between 1.6 percent for Romania and 7.2 per cent in Turkey. In 1999, five of the 13 candidate countries experienced negative growth, though in 2000 they all were positive.
The combined five per cent growth figure for the candidate countries compares with 3.3 per cent for the 15 EU countries. In terms of purchasing power, GDP per capita was highest in Cyprus at 82 per cent of the EU average, and Slovenia, at 71 per cent. A comparison of EU member countries shows that the Greek GDP was 68 per cent of the EU average, Portuguese was 74 per cent and Spanish was 81 per cent.
