EU Issues & Cyprus Acession

A Brief Survey of the European Union

With a population that is 37% of the US population and a gross domestic product that is 85% of the US GDP, the European Union (EU) offers exciting possibilities to hosiery companies looking outside US borders for new markets.

The EU consists of 15 members and has a population of about 375 million, concentrated largely in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and France. The Gross Domestic Product of the EU in 2000 was approximately $7.8 trillion, with Germany having the largest economy in the EU at 23% of the EU's GDP.

There are developments on the forefront that could benefit American companies looking to trade with the EU: deregulation in several product sectors, the start of negotiations on the eventual enlargement of the EU with 12 candidate countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), and the introduction of the euro. Further advancement of the single market and single currency should facilitate increased trade.

Companies considering exporting to the EU should be aware of many laws that will effect distribution and sales agreements. The EU has

• Measures to improve the coherence and effectiveness of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

2) Union policies to benefit citizens

• Administrative - The ability to take on the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

• Increased cooperation between police forces, customs and other law enforcements agencies in member states to assist the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences.

The Treaty will only take effect when it has been ratified by all member states.

Convinced that EU membership can play a “catalytic role” in finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, Eteocleous maintained that the island’s two communities both would benefit from a solution. For example, foreign workers currently make up approximately 7 percent of the Cypriot workforce and come from Russia, Asia, the subcontinent and the Arab world, with their different cultures and economic systems. “A peaceful solution will open up” these jobs to Turkish Cypriots, as well as provide new opportunities with the rebuilding of the island’s infrastructure, hotels, etc.

The requirements that EU Accession Candidates must fulfil for EU membership were established at a June 1993 meeting of the European Council and are referred to as the"Copenhagen Criteria." They include:

• In relation to environmental matters, the achievement of sustainable development becomes one of the objectives of the Community

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