Tallinn, Stenbock House, 13 December 2006 – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is travelling to Brussels tomorrow, in order to take part in the European Council from 14–15 December.
The enlargement of the European Union will be one of the central topics of the Summit. Estonia is of the position that the enlargement of the European Union must continue, and welcomes the accession of Bulgaria and Rumania to the Union on 1 January 2007. Offering the accession perspective to the current and possible candidate countries motivates them to carry out the necessary political and economic reforms, which will ultimately contribute to the formation of a safe Europe.
In the context of the topic of enlargement the accession process of Turkey will also be reviewed. Since Turkey has not eliminated restrictions on the free movement of means of transport imposed on Cyprus, the foreign ministers of the European Union who are preparing the European Council decided on Monday to support the European Commission’s proposal not to open accession negotiations with Turkey on eight chapters, without closing the chapters that have already been opened.
In addition, the European Council will focus on justice and internal issues, innovation and energy. In the field of justice and internal issues, the immigration policy of the European Union and enhancing the decision making process will be discussed. In the field of energy, Estonia’s main interest is to find possibilities for avoiding energy crises.
The European Council will last for two days and end on Friday with the adoption of final conclusions.
The European Council is a forum of the leaders holding executive power in the Member States of the European Union, which defines general political directions for the development of the Union. Traditionally, the sessions of the European Council take place four times a year.
The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Villu Känd from the Government Communication Office (Tel: +372 52 754 24)
See also http://www.riigikantselei.ee/?id=4973
EU Information Service
Government Communication Office
+372 693 5729