The accession of the Czech Republic to the EU – a brief historical analysis

https://doi.org/10.63189/SIJT3842

The Early 90s and an Association Agreement

Czechoslovakia’s interest in membership in the European Communities was shown relatively soon after the Velvet Revolution of November 1989. Just one year after the revolution and the change in the country’s political structure, in December 1990, Czechoslovakia started talks with the European Communities (hereafter: ‘EC’) on concluding an association agreement.

A year later, Czechoslovakia (along with Hungary and Poland) signed the Association Agreement. However, due to the breakup of Czechoslovakia the ratification process was stopped. Then, in January 1993 the officially independent Czech Republic was established and Czech diplomacy, under the leadership of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec, tried to catch up with the delay. In 1993, both parties signed an agreement “establishing an association between the Czech Republic on the one hand and the EC and its Member States on the other.” The agreement entered into force on February 1, 1995.^[1]

Regarding the first half of the 90s, it can be said that despite the break-up of the country, and the economic, political, and other transformations of society, a lot was done in a short period. The Czech Republic clearly showed an interest in the future direction of the country, as well as the desire to integrate into the ‘western’ structures, not only in the sense of EU membership, but also NATO membership.

However, the EU perspective and steps taken should also be considered. Firstly, at its meeting in Copenhagen in June 1993, the European Council decided that the associated countries from Central and Eastern Europe could become members of the EC if they wished to do so. At the same time, it was determined that their accession would take place as soon as each country was able to accept all the obligations associated with membership, such as meeting the economic and political conditions and having sufficient administrative and judicial capacity needed to take over the acquis communautaire.^[2]

At the meeting in Essen in December 1994, the European Council called on the EU to carry out a detailed analysis of the effects of the so called ‘Eastern Enlargement’ on the individual policies of the EU and on its future development. An internal report was presented to the European Council at its meeting in Madrid in December 1995. The Council asked to draw up assessments on the individual applications for membership as soon as possible, and to start working on a summary document on the progress of EU enlargement.^[3]

As such, these so-called pre-accession strategies of the EU institutions can be defined as efforts to enter a dialogue with candidate countries, to create a climate of trust and stability, to limit the rivalry between the candidate countries and to strengthen their mutual cooperation.

Agenda 2000 and the period after submitting the official application for EU membership

In January 1996, the Czech Republic submitted an application for membership in the EU through the then prime minister of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus. In July 1997 the Commission published the material called Agenda 2000, an action programme of the EU whose main objectives were to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and Regional policy, and establish a new financial framework for the years 2000 –2006 — taking into consideration the upcoming Eastern Enlargement of the EU.

As such, Agenda 2000 addressed two key issues:

a)     preparedness of the EU for enlargement, and

b)    preparedness of candidate countries to join the EU.

Agenda 2000 also included the so-called ‘zero assessment’ of the progress of the candidate countries in preparation for EU accession, after which the Commission issued a regular assessment every November — in which it regularly informed the European Council about the progress achieved by the candidate countries in their preparations for membership, as part of the so-called ‘Assessments on the readiness of all candidate countries’.^[4] Shortly after, within its assessment the Commission recommended starting membership negotiations with the Czech Republic,^[5] Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus (the so-called ‘Luxembourg Group’). A year later, the Luxembourg Group was expanded to include Slovakia, Romania, Malta, Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania (the so-called ‘Helsinki Group’), whereby the differentiation of the candidate countries was over.^[6]

Accession Partnership

The legal framework for the enlargement process was formulated in the Accession Partnership in 1998. The aim of this legal framework was essentially to strengthen pre-accession strategies. It is a document whose purpose is to create a framework including all activities implemented for the purpose of joining the EU in the candidate countries. This document had the task of mobilising the candidate countries and focusing their activities in one direction. The EC determined it separately for each candidate country (including priorities, timetable and intermediate goals).

At the same time, the Czech Republic presented ‘The National Program for the Preparation of The Czech Republic for EU Membership’, which was gradually published in 1999, 2000 and 2001.^[7]

Negotiation

 

In January 1996 the Czech Republic applied for membership of the EC through Prime Minister Václav Klaus. After preliminary technical negotiations, the actual negotiations on EU accession began at the ministerial level in November 1998.  

For the purposes of screening, the acquis was divided by area into 31 chapters. Before starting negotiations on each chapter, the Commission proposed a joint negotiating position of the Union, which was approved by the Council and presented by the presiding country.

Opinions on all 31 chapters were also drawn up by all the candidate states, which were represented by the chief negotiator and his team. In January 1998 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Telička was appointed to head the Czech negotiation team. The chief negotiator of the EC was Klaus van der Pas, while the negotiating team directly responsible for the Czech Republic was headed by Michael Leigh and later by Rutger Wissels.^[8]

Monitoring Reports

The process of preparation for membership has been continuously monitored by the Commission, which since 1998 has annually issued regular reports on the progress of candidate countries in preparations for the EU membership. The Commission’s first evaluation report from 1998 was highly critical of the Czech Republic, especially in the areas of state administration and the judiciary, so the government tried to speed up the legislative process of adopting EU law.^[9] The Commission’s second report from 1999 positively marked the adoption of the government document ‘Economic Strategy for Accession to the EU’, a joint assessment of economic policy priorities, a significant shift in the liberalisation of capital movements, and the adoption of basic rules for promoting regional policy.^[10] Nevertheless, the overall result of the implementation of the Accession Partnership was marked as unsatisfactory; among other things, the situation of the Roma community in the Czech Republic was very critically assessed. The Commission’s 2000 report was rated much better than the two previous ones, especially the accelerated adoption of legislation.^[11]

As an opposition perspective, the Czech Republic regularly published the ‘National Program of Acceptance Acquis’, in connection with the assessment of Accession Partnership and screening results. The first version was completed in connection with the evaluation of the Czech Republic within Agenda 2000. After that, the ‘National Program of Acceptance Acquis’ was updated every year. It contained a preamble and 26 chapters, which covered the issue of the acquis communautaire and at the same time corresponded to the chapters of the Commission’s opinion on the Czech application on EU membership. To summarise, it can be said that it was a kind of ‘mirror’ document of the accession partnership.^[12]

The Commission’s rating began to improve with the arrival of the new millennium; for instance the report from 2002 evaluated the Czech Republic significantly more positively, especially in the area of ​​a functioning market economy.^[13] A constant problem was the situation of the Roma people and the reform of the state administration. In 2002, the issue of the so-called ‘Beneš Decrees’ was addressed. Based on the analysis, the Commission issued a report that the decrees do not represent any obstacle to the accession of the Czech Republic from the perspective of the acquis.

The Commission issued its last evaluation report in November 2003.^[14] This report was called the ‘Summary Monitoring Report on the Czech Republic’s Preparations for Membership’. In its assessments the Commission proposed expanding the Union by ten new countries, including the Czech Republic. The pre-accession process was completed at the European Council meeting in Copenhagen in December 2002. All negotiation chapters were closed here, including transition periods, which provided the new member countries with a longer period to successfully settle all obligations resulting from EU membership. The European Council also decided, in accordance with the Commission’s opinion, to admit 10 new members.

Conference in Nice

In December 2000 the EU Summit was held in Nice, where eastward enlargement and the overall reform of institutions were discussed. These steps were necessary precisely because of the expected accession of 10 new member states and the associated significant increase in the number of European citizens. According to the results at the time, after joining the EU the Czech Republic had 11 votes in the Council and 20 deputies in the European Parliament. The Treaty of Nice entered into force in 2004 as the penultimate primary law amendment to date.^[15]

Conclusion: Accession Treaty

Accession of the Czech Republic within the so-called ‘fifth accession wave’ was not based on partial agreements concluded with each candidate country separately, but was based on a common accession agreement, i.e. one act containing the conditions of entry for all newly acceding states. Firstly, the existing member countries expressed their opinions within COREPER, after which the European Parliament agreed to the accession. The process of acceptance of new candidate countries by the EU was subsequently closed by the decision of the Council of the EU. The Accession Treaty was signed in April 2003 in Athens — and to complete the enlargement from 15 to 25 member states, ratification of the Accession Treaty was necessary by all 25 states. In the EU-15 (‘old’ member states) the approval of national parliaments was required, while in all new member states (except Cyprus) a referendum was held.

^[1] Communication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of a European agreement establishing an association between the Czech Republic and the European Communities and their member states (1995) n. 7/1995 Coll.

^[2] European Commission (1993), Communication by the EC to the Council in view of the meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen – Towards a closer association with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, CELEX:51993SC0648.

^[3] Bulletin of the EU (1995), n. 12. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the EU. “Conclusions of the Madrid European Council (15 and 16 December 1995)”, pp. 52-58.

^[4] European Commission. (2000) Agenda 2000 - Vol. I: For a stronger and wider Union - Vol. II: The challenge of enlargement, COM/97/2000 final - Vol. I, COM/97/2000 final - Vol. II. [online]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=legissum:l60001.

^[5] European Commission. (1997) Agenda 2000 - EC Opinion on the Czech Republic’s Application for Membership of the EU.[online]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/DOC_97_17.

^[6] Helsinki Group of applicant countries closes negotiations on first series of ‘easy’ chapters – Talks open on ‘tricky’ chapters with Luxembourg group (2000), Europe Daily Bulletin (No. 7725) [online]. Available at: https://agenceurope.eu/en/bulletin/article/7725/7.

^[7] Zenkner, P. Vstup ČR do EU, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. [online]. Available at: https://tvorimevropu.cz/evropska-unie/cr-a-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/.

^[8] Zenkner, P. Vstup ČR do EU, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic [online]. Available at: https://tvorimevropu.cz/evropska-unie/cr-a-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/.

^[9] European Commission (1998), The Czech Republic Progress Report 1998, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-progress-report-1998_en.

^[10] European Commission (1999), The Czech Republic Progress Report 1998, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-progress-report-1999_en.

^[11] European Commission (2000), The Czech Republic Regular Report 2000, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online].  Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-regular-report-2000_en.

^[12] Zenkner, P. Vstup ČR do EU, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. [online]. Available at: https://tvorimevropu.cz/evropska-unie/cr-a-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/.

^[13] European Commission (2002), The Czech Republic Regular Report 2002, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online].  Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-regular-report-2002_en.

^[14] European Commission (2003), Comprehensive monitoring report on the Czech Republic’s preparations for membership, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-monitoring-report-2003_en.

^[15] Treaty of Nice amending the TFEU, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, OJ C 80, 10 March 2001,pp. 1—87.

References

Bulletin of the EU (1995), n. 12. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the EU. Conclusions of the Madrid European Council (15 and 16 December 1995), pp. 52-58.

European Commission (1997), Agenda 2000 - EC Opinion on the Czech Republic’s Application for Membership of the EU.[online]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/DOC_97_17.

European Commission (2000), Agenda 2000 - Vol. I: For a stronger and wider Union - Vol. II: The challenge of enlargement,COM/97/2000 final - Vol. I, COM/97/2000 final - Vol. II. [online].  Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=legissum:l60001.

European Commission (1993), Communication by the EC to the Council in view of the meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen – Towards a closer association with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, CELEX:51993SC0648.

Communication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of a European agreement establishing an association between The Czech Republic and the European Communities and their Member States (1995), n. 7/1995 Coll.

European Commission (2003), Comprehensive monitoring report on The Czech Republic’s preparations for membership, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online].  Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-monitoring-report-2003_en.

European Commission (1998), The Czech Republic Progress Report 1998, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-progress-report-1998_en.

European Commission (1999), The Czech Republic Progress Report 1999, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-progress-report-1999_en.

European Commission (2000), The Czech Republic Regular Report 2000, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations[online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-regular-report-2000_en.

European Commission (2002), The Czech Republic Regular Report 2002, DG for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations [online]. Available at: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/czech-republic-regular-report-2002_en.

Helsinki Group of applicant countries closes negotiations on first series of “easy” chapters – Talks open on “tricky” chapters with Luxembourg group (2000), Europe Daily Bulletin (No. 7725) [online].  Available at: https://agenceurope.eu/en/bulletin/article/7725/7.

Treaty of Nice amending the TFEU, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, OJ C 80, 10 March 2001, pp. 1—87.

Zenkner, P. Vstup ČR do EU, Office of the Government of The Czech Republic [online].  Available at: https://tvorimevropu.cz/evropska-unie/cr-a-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/vstup-cr-do-eu/.