Enhanced Monitoring

Monitoring actions are already underway. The Commission regularly provides the Council with detailed monitoring tables and reports that look at the way commitments undertaken in the framework of negotiations have been implemented. These also concern commitments on building up adequate administrative capacity.

The Commission does not always have the relevant expertise to judge the readiness of the candidate countries' administrations since implementation is largely up to Member States. This is why in a number of areas peer reviews have been established. Peer reviews allow candidate countries to involve experts from Member States and the Commission in the evaluation of administrative capacity. Peer reviews have already started or are being considered in the field of financial services, justice and home affairs, budget, agriculture, nuclear safety and environment. The Commission will provide practical support in particular through the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Office (TAIEX) or through other mechanisms (for example SIGMA).

The Commission will inform the Council of peer reviews or any other relevant action to assess administrative capacity in candidate countries by Spring 2002. This will allow the results of these actions to be taken up in the single framework of the accession negotiations.

Peer reviews are not a panacea. They complement the ongoing monitoring process. They should only be used where appropriate and should focus on areas of particular concern identified by the Regular Reports, proposals for revised Accession Partnerships or in the course of the negotiations.

These activities will contribute to the monitoring of commitments made by candidate countries during the accession negotiations. The Commission will report on its action plan, including on the monitoring of these commitments, by the time of the Seville European Council in June 2002.

The 2002 Regular Reports will then closely examine what has been done and whether, in the different areas of the acquis, the candidate countries will be able to have the adequate structures in place to implement and enforce the acquis by accession.

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