Serhiy Fomin, Candidate of Economy, senior researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the NAS of Ukraine. * * * At present, one of the most important problems of the EU is the increase in the EU member states. At the session of the European Council in Lycene (December, 2001) for the first time it was officially declared that 10 candidate countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta) late in 2002 should complete the negotiations as regards the accession to the EU in order that in 2004 they will take part in the election to the European Parliament by rights of the full-fledged members. The European Council having expressed itself for the EU expansion in the format of 10 countries at the same time notified Bulgaria and Romania that it is expecting intensification of their efforts on the road to the accession to the EU. Moreover, the Commission will prepare the program of more active involvement of these two Balkan countries in the EU expansion process. At the same time it was stated that all the candidate countries should continue the institutional and administrative reforms aimed at adaptation of national legislations to the EU legislation. On the whole, candidate countries welcomed the resolutions of the Lycene summit. Only the representatives of Bulgaria and Rumania stated that delaying in time of their countries' joining the EU was not justified and, in their opinion, the real accession is already possible for Bulgaria in 2004 and for Rumania in 2005-2006. The Commission did not comment these statements though previously it was indicated: the EU membership of these countries is possible not earlier than in 2006 - 2008. Cyprus is undoubted leader in the negotiations as to the accession to the EU, which has стр. 37 completed the discussions of 27 articles out of 31 articles aqui communautaire. Among them are such complicated questions as agriculture, reg ... Читать далее