Современные критерии вступления стран в европейские организации

Abstract

The article "Modern Criteria for States Entry into European Organizations" reviews basic directions of cooperation of the European structures with the "new democracies" and analyses the decision-taking process. It also singles out the main criteria which define the stage of negotiations on integration of the given states. The growth of actors of international relations due to the states of Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the CIS has led to the complication of functioning of European organizations, the decision-taking process and evaluation of political and military forces balance. All structures of European institutional system had to correct their objectives and functions and to adapt them to new conditions. The article points out that the objectives of integration of the Eastern European states and the CIS can be attained through the following: 1) the existing European structures and institutions on the basis of their adaptation to new conditions; 2) the establishment of a new organization at pan-European scale; 3) adopting temporary decisions; 4) developing subregional cooperation, the so-called "small integration". The article studies the mechanism of integration into European organizations which depends on the level of conformity of the state to the criteria and requirements of these organizations. It shows that the main criteria for admission to European organizations, the EU and EC in particular, are: the establishment and observance of democratic regime, fundamental civil rights and freedoms, fulfillment of obligations by the state when integrating into legal, economic and political system, development and functioning of competitive market economy conforming to the requirements of administrative and legislative structure in the state-owned and private economy sectors. The procedure of decision consideration in the EU regarding the states of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic States, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta) within the framework of decision-taking mechanism started from the conclusion of European agreements on associated membership. The second phrase was submitting applications for entering the EU and their consideration, correction and statement of the European Commission on the given application. The consideration procedure what regards the CIS had two stages: the first stage (until 1994) was taking place on the basis of the Agreement on trade and cooperation signed bythe USSR in 1989. The second stage of this procedure presupposed gradual substitution of the given Agreement by bilateral Agreements between the CIS countries and the EU on partnership and cooperation. The author comes to the conclusion that the agreements on associated membership (European agreements) are the most multilateral compared with other types of agreements concluded by the EU with the third states. In their turn, the agreements on partnership and cooperation (APC) do not have a "preferential nature" in contradistinction to the European Agreements. They do not resolve in full the issues existing in the CIS-parties to the APC — which are related to the trade with the EU states. The article grounds the proposition that the participation of the Central European States, the Baltic States and the CIS states in European organizations can be considered as the development of international processes and as a way of integration of these states into the European system of international and social economic relations.