The Post Accession Agenda of CEE New Member States

1. The Post Accession Agenda of CEE New Member States What is the “Unfinished Business” ?

2. Context • 20 years after the start of the transition • 10 years after the beginning of the EU accession negotiations • Five years (two and a half for Bulgaria and Romania) since EU accession • World financial and economic crisis

3. The “Unfinished Business” of the Transition Agenda • Uncompleted structural reforms in • the policy fields of national competence • in all CEE NMS: • Education • Health system • Social protection systems and social inclusion, pensions.

4. Reasons • Lack ofacquis communitaire in those policy areas • Depend on the capacity and political will of national governments • Party systems’ fragmentation and fragile coalition governments some of which in minority position with a short political lifetime • Temptation to employ populism and nationalism

5. Impact • Deepen the marginalization of certain groups of society and increase the already huge regional development discrepancies • Diminish the already low citizens’ trust in the political establishments and the institutions of representative democracy. • Cause already fragile political systems to become increasingly vulnerable.

6. Economic and Financial Crisis Challenges • Risk the catching-up tendency to be reversed in most of the countries; • vulnerability of the public finances; • challenged sustainability of the economic development.

7. The “Unfinished Business” of the Accession Agenda • Unclear prospects for the Euro adoption in eight of the NMS of CEE • Accession to the Schengen area – Bulgaria and Romania (2011) • JHA Reform, Curbing Corruption – Bulgaria and Romania • Fighting Organized Crime and EU Funds Absorption - Bulgaria • Capacity for constructive co-authorship of common European policies

8. EU Membership Leverage • Very limited regarding its impact on • the “unfinished business” in the • post accession period • EU safeguards against extremism in politics through exercising peer pressure and implementing European policies. • Insignificant and ineffective in impact on the uncompleted spheres of reform (e.g. health, education, social protection and pensions).

9. EU Membership Leverage • Cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM) in reforming the judiciary, fighting organized crime and corruption – Bulgaria, Romania • Schengen Area accession requirement – Bulgaria, Romania • Euro area accession is the only potentially effective leverage – the requirement provide for prudent macro economic policies, contributing to the sustainability of public finances.

10. The Post Accession Agenda • Ensuring stable political systems with mature political parties. • Accomplishing long-term structural reforms in the policy spheres of citizens’ concern. • Assuring functioning institutions of representative democracy, trusted by the citizens. • Creating sustainable long-term economic development and safeguarding public finances.

11. The Post Accession Agenda • Euro area accession for eight of the CEE NMS • Accomplish the transition from a EU membership of full rights to a membership of full value: • effective civic participation in the European policies formulation and implementation; • effective programming of the financial period 2013-2020. • Schengen area accession, JHA reform, fight against corruption and organized crime - Bulgaria and Romania.

12. “The Unfinished Business of the Fifth Enlargement Countries” www.eupi.eu Assya Kavrakova Program Director European Policies and Civic Participation ProgramOpen Society Institute - Sofia E-mail: akavrakova@osi.bg Web site: www.osi.bg