Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in regard to European enlargement and ratification of the treaty of the constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33524/05]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress being made by Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia towards membership of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33281/05]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress being made with regard to accession talks between the EU and Turkey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33272/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in regard to European enlargement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33705/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 78, 95 and 139 together.

The need to cope with the challenges of managing an enlarged Union of 25 or more members was one of the reasons for embarking on the process that led to the elaboration of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.

The position as regards the ratification of the European constitution is that a total of 13 countries might be described as having effectively ratified, either because they have approved the text by referendum or because their parliamentary procedures relating to ratification have been completed. A 14th has almost completed this procedure. Until the position at European level is clearer, it is not intended to set a date for a referendum in Ireland.

As regards enlargement, following the signing of the accession treaty in April 2005, Bulgaria and Romania participate in almost all EU meetings as active observers and are scheduled to join the Union in January 2007, if they are ready. On 3 October, Ministers at the General Affairs and External Relations Council gave the go-ahead to open accession negotiations with both Croatia and Turkey.

The Commission's annual monitoring reports for Bulgaria and Romania were published on 25 October 2005 and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made by both countries towards fulfilling the requirements of membership. For both countries, a number of "red flag" issues have been identified that will need to be urgently addressed before the date of accession. The Commission will closely monitor the steps taken to tackle these issues and will present a final recommendation to Council in April-May 2006 as to whether Bulgaria and Romania will be in a position to meet the full requirements of membership by 1 January 2007.

I believe it is essential that both countries make full use of the period between now and the spring European Council to address the issues highlighted by the Commission so as to ensure that they remain on track to join the Union, as envisaged, in 2007. This is in the best interests of the Union and of the acceding countries themselves.

As regards Croatia and Turkey, the European Commission will undertake an intensive screening process, evaluating the degree of preparedness of both countries with a view to setting benchmarks for the opening and closure of negotiation chapters. The Commission also published its annual progress reports for Turkey and Croatia on 9 November, providing a timely overview of the current state of play in both countries.

Negotiations will proceed with both countries on the basis of their own merits. This means that the pace of negotiation will be determined by each country's progress towards meeting the requirements of EU membership. According to the agreed negotiating frameworks, the shared objective of the negotiations — an open-ended process whose outcome cannot be guaranteed beforehand — is accession. In the case of Turkey, we anticipate that the negotiations will continue for a considerable length of time. Turkey's accession could have substantial financial consequences and the conclusions adopted on 3 October indicate that the negotiations can only be concluded after the establishment of the Union's financial framework for the period from 2014. The Union's capacity to absorb Turkey will also be an important consideration in the general interest of both the Union and Turkey. The Commission will continue to monitor this capacity as the negotiations proceed.

The interdepartmental committee on enlargement will be convened by the Department of Foreign Affairs to monitor developments and co-ordinate Ireland's approach to EU enlargement and especially the forthcoming negotiations with both Croatia and Turkey.

Ireland continues to provide assistance and advice to Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs' bilateral assistance programme, which is designed to help new and candidate member states prepare for the challenges of EU membership.