INTRODUCTION BY THE HON. JOE BORG, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE NSTF MINI-EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY PRIOR TO THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS ON ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS 2001: LAST LAP TO MEMBERSHIP? BY THE LUXEMBOURG FOREIGN MINISTER, MADAME POLFER

It gives me great pleasure to make the introductory speech at this session of the NSTF Mini-European Assembly. I feel honoured on two accounts: firstly because the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Luxembourg, Her Excellency Madame Polfer has agreed to deliver tonight's keynote speech. And secondly because it gives me great pleasure to see young people, such as yourselves, gathered here to discuss European issues with such keen interest and ability.

The evolution of Europe and the European Union is, as you are all well aware, an ongoing process. The Nice Summit concluded only a couple of months ago put this process on a somewhat surer footing, wrapping up as it were, the long-standing debate on the institutional reform of the Union, at least for the time being. This is not to say that this debate has reached a hard and fast conclusion on all counts by any means - it remains a lively, ongoing debate on the future shape of Europe that one sincerely hopes will continue as Europe evolves and adapts to an ever-changing environment. The Union is in actual fact already speaking in terms of a post-Nice debate to that end.

Nice did however reach a conclusion on a number of important institutional issues, such as the size and composition of the Commission, the weighting of votes in the Council of Ministers, the extension of qualified majority voting and the allocation of seats in the European parliament. The question of enhanced co-operation was also extensively discussed with a view to facilitating the evolution of the Union into other areas of interest to member states.

Malta has noted all these developments in view of our vital interest in the Union as a candidate for membership of the same. In the few minutes ahead of me, I would like to turn to Malta's objectives in this regard, as I am sure that Madame Polfer will be able to give you a more comprehensive overview of the accession negotiations from the point of view of a member state.

Government has been extremely clear in its intention for Malta to be included in the next enlargement, envisaged to take place during the next few years. Within this over-riding goal, it is Government's immediate aim to open all the remaining chapters for negotiation and to close as many chapters as necessary to catch up with the front-runners. Over the past year we have seen resounding progress in our negotiations, closing twelve chapters out of the seventeen opened last year.

Over the coming months we are committed to continuing our efforts in this respect, opening all the remaining chapters under the Swedish Presidency and completing all negotiations during 2002 in line with the Commission's enlargement strategy paper endorsed in Nice. During these negotiations Malta will seek to obtain the necessary transitional periods and special arrangements to ensure that the final negotiated package is the most advantageous possible.

1 January 2003 is the working deadline that Malta, along with other candidate countries, has determined will be the point at which Malta will have completed its preparations for membership. In order for us to be prepared for such an undertaking there is currently a dynamic process underway to ensure the upgrading of government and commercial practices, the introduction of new safeguards for consumers and workers and the creation of certain crucial administrative structures and institutional capacity building. The continued support of member states and EU institutions will be actively pursued in this regard in order to ensure that Malta will be fully able to assume the obligations of membership by the date of accession.

This parallel process, whereby both the Union and the aspiring candidate countries undergo a period of preparation, is crucial we believe in achieving the synergy that will become ever more necessary in an enlarged Union. The seriousness with which both sides are approaching this dynamic process augurs well for the future of the Union and its component parts, to deal with the challenges that lie ahead.

This understanding of the need for preparation becomes ever more encouraging when one sees you hard at work at your own process of preparation, a process that leads you to understand Europe and the various issues facing the countries of which it is constituted. I wish you every success in your debates today and in the future, within this august forum. I now leave the floor to Madame Polfer, who I am sure will add a further dimension to your ongoing discussions.

Thank you.