Hansard

The enlargement of the European Union is a huge topic. Some 11 countries are applying for membership, of which six will come in the first wave. Because of the size of the issue, I am conscious that our investigation must be relevant to Scotland: we must focus on what we can influence, so that we do not waste time by wandering into areas that do not concern us, or which Westminster should be considering.

Many other reports have been, and are being, conducted into EU enlargement as it affects Scotland and the UK. The House of Lords completed such a report last year—I have notes on it—and numerous others continue. I am concerned that we should not contradict or duplicate existing work that may be relevant to Scotland.

My submission contains the background to the issues. It lays out the candidate countries and concentrates on the first six, as they hope to accede to the European Union between 2003 and 2005 and will affect what happens in Scotland regarding European structural funds.

My main concerns are listed on page 2 of the document, under the heading "Specific plans". The EU will push towards the east and many of the former eastern bloc countries. That will have an effect on the geographic axis of Europe. We need to examine that, as it will affect the way in which Scotland fits into Europe geographically. There will be a shift towards Berlin and the Baltic side of Europe will be opened up for Scotland.

Demands will be made on institutions. Point 2 in the same section of the document questions how the knock-on effect of those institutional changes in Brussels will affect the UK and, perhaps, institutions in Scotland. The judiciary will also be affected; we have already seen how the implementation of the European convention on human rights affects us.

Point 3 concerns economic implications and European aid. Point 4 addresses the basic business opportunities of investment in Scotland and the implications of a bigger market that our producers and businesses will be able to exploit. Changes to structural funds are addressed in point 5. We are all conscious that 2006 will be a big deadline for us in Scotland, and there will be even more pressure.

Point 6 is important. There are many requirements for entry into the EU. Increasingly, I am discovering that many of the applicant countries are asking for exemption from the rules. Irene Oldfather will be aware of that in the context of social and employment policies. Will those countries want all the benefits of the EU without taking on all the responsibilities at the same time? That is a quite important point, as we could be in positions of unfair competition. I shall expand on that in the project, rather than now.

Point 7 focuses on social reforms. Many of the applicant countries, especially those in the east, have a communist past, so the social ethos in employment and health care is very different. They are also undergoing changes. For example, Poland has just introduced a private health care system, which has taken it from one extreme to another. That sort of change will be an issue when we address EU directives, new formalisations and the employment policies that are increasingly coming out of Europe, in line with the Amsterdam treaty.

Assessing the way in which enlargement of the EU will affect the common agricultural policy will be a big project in itself. Implementation of that policy continues even in the member states. A country such as Poland, which has a population of nearly 39 million, represents a big agricultural producer that is joining the EU and will shift the axis—not geographically, but in farming. At the moment, France dominates the common agricultural policy, but Poland's entry will change that. The common agricultural policy alone is a big issue, so I shall investigate that change in the context of the immediate impact that it will have on Scotland.

Those are the eight points that I shall address. I shall try to keep my report as concise and relevant to Scotland's concerns as possible, focusing on ways in which we can influence the situation.

Under the heading "Organisations to be consulted", hundreds of people could be chosen for consultation. I have already met some of them. I took advantage of the fact that they happened to be in Scotland. I met the ambassador of Slovenia and the consul general of Poland, who is happy for the ambassador to come here to meet us. If the committee can suggest anyone else we should invite, I would be happy to include them.

We should invite the academics from the University of Edinburgh: not out of bias towards that university, but out of consideration of costs and because Alice Brown is holding a conference on EU enlargement at the moment, which would be particularly relevant. I shall also make available to the committee a UK white paper on enlargement, which was published in March.

The project is pretty substantial, as members will appreciate. I shall try to limit travelling as much as possible. I have already taken advantage of visits to Scotland by dignitaries from other countries. A trip to Brussels would be useful; however, I have kept travelling to a minimum, as is requested in the guidelines.

The European project teams will give us clues as to what countries want exemptions in the process of EU enlargement. For example, Poland wants to extend one of its deadlines for an environmental measure by 12 years, which would have an impact on how enlargement might progress. It is difficult to get hold of such information, and a trip to Brussels may be needed to consult the project teams on what exemptions are being negotiated.

I would be happy to take on board any other suggestions from members of the committee.