Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the issues being considered as part of the ongoing discussions taking place between Turkey and the European Union with regard to EU membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39183/05]

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress being made by Romania towards membership of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39173/05]

Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding all countries seeking entry to the European Union; the next date at which enlargement will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39193/05]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the accession of Bulgaria and Romania is on target; when the accession treaties will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and the number of member state parliaments which have already passed these treaties. [39521/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 206: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position in regard to European enlargement with particular reference to the resolution of the issue surrounding Turkey's application for membership and the Cyprus issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39603/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which countries aspiring to EU membership are achieving compliance with the [i]acquis communautaire[/i]; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39610/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 74, 99, 202, 206 and 213 together.

The Union's current enlargement agenda consists of two acceding countries — Bulgaria and Romania — and two candidate countries — Croatia and Turkey. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 12 December, the Union also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a European perspective for the western Balkans.

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.

If sufficient progress has not been made, the Commission can recommend that the Council postpone the date of accession for both countries until 1 January 2008. However, the Commission has noted that, although urgent corrective action is needed in these areas, Bulgaria and Romania still "hold the key to their accession on time".

In a decision dated 12 April 2005, the Government approved the terms of the Treaty of Accession for Bulgaria and Romania and authorised its signature, subject to ratification, on behalf of Ireland. The treaty was signed by the EU member states, together with Bulgaria and Romania, on 25 April 2005. To enter into force, the treaty must be ratified by Bulgaria, Romania and all the current member states by 31 December 2006. Both Bulgaria and Romania ratified the treaty in May 2005 while six EU member states have also done so.

Ireland's ratification of the accession treaty will require an amendment to the European Communities Act 1972. Preparations for this are underway and it is hoped to put the relevant Bill before the Oireachtas during the spring session. In anticipation of this, the accession treaty for Bulgaria and Romania will be laid before the Dáil in the coming weeks.

The Commission published annual progress reports for Croatia and Turkey on 9 November. These reports fed into the accession partnerships for both countries, on which agreement was reached on 6 December. The Commission is currently engaged with both countries in conducting a screening process designed to assess their state of readiness in the various chapters of the accession negotiations. It is expected to take until autumn 2006 to complete the screening process for all chapters. After each chapter has been screened, the Council can decide, on the basis of a proposal from the Commission, whether negotiations can be opened in these specific areas.

The Commission has noted that Croatia has made some progress towards alignment with the EU legal order — the acquis— but that enforcement and administrative capacity need to be strengthened. Croatia's continued co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia is an important priority of the accession partnership. The arrest last week of former General Ante Gotovina is a positive early development in this regard.

While Turkey's alignment with the EU legal order has progressed in some respects, it remains at an early stage in most areas. Turkey needs to maintain its commitment to the full implementation of human rights and other reforms. Administrative and judicial capacity needs to be reinforced to apply EU rules. The accession partnership also notes that Turkey must take concrete steps for the normalisation of bilateral relations with all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus, as soon as possible. In September the EU issued a declaration recalling the status of the Republic of Cyprus as a member state of the EU and noting that recognition of all member states is a necessary component of the accession process.

An application for membership has been received from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, fYROM, which is currently being considered by the Council. As part of the Union's commitment to maintaining a European perspective for the western Balkans, negotiations are also ongoing with Albania for a stabilisation and association agreement, SAA, and have recently been opened with both Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

At the GAERC on 12 December, the Council held a preliminary exchange of views on the Commission's enlargement strategy paper, which was published in November 2005. The Commission paper laid stress on the need to communicate more effectively with EU citizens the objectives and challenges of the Union's enlargement policy. This point was taken up in the Council conclusions of 12 December, which also stressed the need for rigorous conditionality at all stages of the accession process, bearing in mind the Union's own capacity to absorb further members. It was agreed that the Council would further discuss the issue of enlargement during 2006.