EU Agreements with the Ceec — Achievements and Problems with Special Refference to the Free Movement of Persons and Services and to Freedom of Establishment
| Author | Klaus Sieveking |
| Published date | 01 March 2003 |
| Date | 01 March 2003 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/138826270300500103 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
38 Intersentia
EU AGREEMENTS WITH THE
CEEC – ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROBLEMS
WITH SPECIAL REFFERENCE TO THE FREE
MOVEMENT OF PERSONS AND SERVICES
AND TO FREEDOM OF ESTABLISHMENT
Klaus Sieveking*
Abstract
This article focuses on two questions that have proved particularly difficult to settle
in the accession negotiations between the EU and ten Central and Eastern
European Countries. The article begins with a survey of the present status of EU
associations and then seeks to identify the distinctive characteristics of the proposed
association relations, as distinct from the existing association relations. It then
analyses the two questions: the first of these involves the free movement of workers
and related aspects of social legislation while the second deals with the
implementation of freedom of establishment which is already possible under the
EU Agreements.
1. INTRODUCTION
Since the 1989 transformation in Eastern Europe and the re-constitutiona-
lisation of the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), these
countries have found themselves in a continuous state of economic and
social change. Many of them expressed their desire to join the European
Union, and, in 1993, the European Council of Copenhagen drew up a set of
criteria that the aspiring countries would have to meet beforehand. The EU
promised that ‘the states of Central and Eastern Europe ... can become
members. Membership will be established as soon as the respective state is
able to meet the membership requirements with regard to economic and
political conditions’.
* Prof. Dr. Klaus Sieveking, Universita
¨t Bremen, Fachbereich 11, Grazer Str.2, D-28359 Bremen.
e-mail: ksievek@uni-bremen.de
At present the EU is holding accession negotiations with ten CEEC
countries.
1
The applicants have to build up sufficient economic power to be
able to compete within the European Union, and the four fundamental
freedoms – the freedom of goods, persons, services and capital – have to be
comprehensively implemented. This article focuses on two questions, which
have proved difficult to settle in this process of convergence: firstly the free
movement of workers and related aspects of social legislation (see section 3);
and secondly, the implementation of the freedom of establishment which is
already possible under the EU Agreements (see section 4). Before doing so,
it seeks to identify distinctive characteristics of these association relations,
which are distinct from existing association relations, and gives a brief survey
of the present status of EU associations (see section 2).
2. ASSOCIATION UNDER EU AGREEMENTS COMPARED WITH
OTHER ASSOCIATION RELATIONS OF THE EU
According to Art. 310 EC, the EU may conclude its own association
agreements with (third) countries and international organisations. The
association can be limited to selective aspects of economic co-operation
2
,as
in the case of the European Economic Area (EEA). Alternatively, it can lay
the foundation for comprehensive economic integration or shape the
future accession of a EU member state.
The EU has concluded association agreements with ten CEEC countries
(Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) with the aim of intensifying co-operation
and thus enabling the medium-term accession of these states to the EU.
3
These agreements upgrade the status of the citizens of the accession
countries with regard to residence, employment and social rights.
4
They are
intended to intensify and extend co-operation between accession countries
and member countries. Contrary to the expectations raised by the principle
of the free movement of workers, the agreements do not give access to the
labour market or rights of residence to workers from the accession
countries, nor do they contain protective clauses for those citizens of
accession countries who are employed in a EU member country at the time
when the agreement takes effect.
5
Self-employed persons are given freedom
EU Agreements with the CEEC
European Journal of Social Security, Volume 5 (2003), No. 1 39
1
Regarding the state of accession efforts, see EUROPEAN COMMISSION (2001, 2002a, 2002b and
2002c) and HUSEMANN (2002).
2
As is the case in the Agreements with Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. See CACON-
ESTRADA (1998).
3
JORENS (1998).
4
See also GUILD (1998), FLOREK and USCINSKA (1998) and HUSMANN (1998).
5
In contrast to the EC Association Agreements with Greece, Spain, Portugal and Turkey, see
BARVOS (2001) and GARNIER (2001).
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