EU Foreign Ministers over the weekend gave broad support to a new French initiative to establish a permanent "European Conference" of member-states and applicant countries.
The conference, which would meet at head of government level once a year and more often at official level, would provide a forum for political dialogue with applicant states.
The Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs welcomed the proposal. There was a sense of frustration, he said, with the scope of, the current "structured dialogue with the 11 applicant states * and a need to put it on a new footing. Mr Spring gave strong support to Dutch Presidency proposals to mend fences with Turkey, including inviting Ankara to be part of the conference.
Talks on enlargement are due to open six months after the conclusion of the Inter-Governmental Conference - in theory at the beginning of 1998 - on the basis of an assessment, "avis", from the Commission of the preparedness of individual countries for accession in economic and political terms. The British, among others, favour opening accession talks only with those who the Commission recommends are fit and able to join in the near future.
That could mean a polite but firm rebuff to a considerable number of countries - Sweden and Denmark, particularly concerned about the Baltics and the added sense of security that accession talks would give them, prefer to open negotiations with all applicant countries if only afterwards to slow down talks with those who will clearly not make it yet.
The French proposal appears to be an elegant way round the problem by providing a formal forum for political dialogue with all of those waiting at the gates. It is likely to be complemented by a reinforcing of the pre-accession programmes of the EU, with better targeting of aid and trade concessions.
However, the debate is complicated by the disagreements over whether Turkey should be admitted to the applicant group and specifically to the Europe Conference.
* Accession talks are due to begin in January with Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania.
