30
the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) prior to the accession of new members and
greatly reduce the notorious agricultural subsidies. No increase of the current budget
framework, expiring in 2006, is supported by the government. The Labour
government firmly supports enlargement but it opposes the delegation of financial
means to the candidate countries under the unreformed CAP and the system of
structural funding. Britain envisions a fundamentally new budget framework for the
2007-2013 period to reconcile the relative poverty of the new members with the
preservation of the economic interests of the current member-states. As Tony Blair
emphasized at the October 2002 EU Summit in Brussels: “The European Union will
be generous to the new members. It is right that we should be, given our own interest
in their stability and prosperity. But at the same time, we do not want to jeopardize
the progress that has been made in reducing agriculture’s share of the EU budget
from over 60% 20 years ago to 45 % now. … we want to limit the growth of direct
payments to farmers once the candidate countries have become full members”.
38
The balanced government position highlighting both the beneficial and difficult
aspects of economic expansion is paralleled by public perceptions. The official
information messages have succeeded in creating a realistic awareness of all the
prospective economic consequences of enlargement. For instance, 74% of all people
agree with the Government prediction that the economic influence of the EU in the
world as a whole will be greatly enhanced by enlargement. Likewise, most
respondents agree on the “unifying” effect of expansion, with more countries being
able to reach Western living standards (65%), and UK firms being able to have better
access to the European continental market (63%).
39
Still, the government has been
37
www.fco.gov.uk/BritainandEurope/WhyEnlargetheEU/Top10BenefitsofEUEnlargement
38
Prime-Minister Statement on the EU Summit in Brussels, 28 October 2002, FCO, Archived
Speeches.
39
Flash Eurobarmoter 124, EOS Gallup Europe, April 2002, p.18
Convention