Agriculture categorised 'red' in chapter classification

A European Commission report on Malta is expected to single out the agricultural sector as the only area where the government has fallen behind significantly in the implementation of EU legislation, sources said.

The report for Malta, and those for other candidate countries, are expected to be released on Wednesday. The reports will split the 30 chapters of the acquis into three categories: those marked with a red colour meaning there are serious problems; the yellow classification meaning there are problems of a less significant nature; and green, meaning the country is doing fine in that area.

The sources said that Malta was expected to have one chapter categorised as red: agriculture. It is also expected that three other chapters - environment, transport and social policy - will get a yellow classification. The rest of the chapters will get a green classification.

Sources close to the European Commission said a comparison of the classification would show that Malta was expected to rank in the middle of the pack, possibly in the top half.

"This is a good result for Malta considering that it started its negotiations two years later than the first batch of candidate countries and considering it had its application in abeyance until late 1998," the sources said.

The report on Malta analyses the government's success - or lack of it - in implementing what has been agreed upon in the negotiations and in capacity building.

"On agriculture, the report is expected to say that there has been little progress in the transposition of the acquis and considerable efforts are still needed as regards administrative capacity and implementation," the sources said.

However, sources close to the government said that in reality stronger efforts would have been possible had Malta been eligible for significant funds under the Sapard programme, like other eastern and central European countries: "The aim of the programme is precisely to help a country create the necessary structures for implementation purposes."

The report takes into account the main accession criteria:

¤ Political criteria: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities. Malta has no problem at all in this area. However, the report is expected to comment once again on the lack of consensus on membership;

¤ Economic criteria: functioning market economy and capacity to withstand competitive pressure and market forces within the union. The report will reiterate that Malta fulfils these criteria;

¤ The ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of the political, economic and monetary union: transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU law through appropriate administrative and judicial structures. The report is expected to criticise that particular sector where the commission feels not enough effort has been made in implementation and capacity building.

The report is expected to recommend next week that Malta will be among the candidate countries to conclude negotiations by the end of the year to be included in the next enlargement in 2004.

The sources said the report on Malta should give the green light to the island. "However, it will be critical of sectors in which the commission believes the government has fallen behind in implementation and capacity building."

The commission's recommendations will be taken into account by EU leaders when they issue membership invitations to up to 10 candidate countries at their Brussels summit on October 24-25.