I welcome this opportunity bringing together politicians and academics to discuss the issue of enlargement. It is a pleasure for me to make a contribution to today's forum by presenting you with some ideas on two core policies -- agriculture and migration.

At the very start, we have to recognize that one of the Community's main achievements has been "solidarity mechanism". Solidarity is even more likely when there is a policy based on facts and analysis, not just on sentiments. A policy which is sustainable in all the connotations of sustainability - social, economic and ecological.

After the Commission presented its position on how enlargement was to be funded, the candidate countries began to realize that the enlargement project as a whole could suffer as a result of squabbling over a million euros here and a million euros there. But the real issue is how to give citizens, especially farmers and rural communities in central and Eastern Europe hope for the future. It is quite clear that the mere transfer of the EU's existing agricultural policy onto candidate countries is not the answer. The present positions of candidates are much too varied for this to work. Instead, we need to examine the differences and ask ourselves what solutions are appropriate in order to bring the rural areas of the candidate countries up to a comparable standard.

I would like to remind you of Commissioner Fischler's speech delivered on the occasion of presenting the Commission's enlargement proposals in January of this year. He advocated the benefits of this proposal by giving six reasons why the Commission's strategy was good for enlargement. I will refer to some of the reasons. The package is balanced and ensures that EU's money will be well spent in boosting the necessary restructuring process in candidate countries. The package is also good for environment. Agri-environment programmes will have a positive effect and the "simplified scheme" will reduce pressure for speculative investment in intensive production methods. The package fully respect the budgetary ceilings agreed in Berlin in 1999, in spite of being extended from six to ten countries. The amount of 3.6 billion euros, which will be spent on rural development in the period of 2004-2006 clearly demonstrates its role as a second pillar of agricultural policy. Indeed, I have to agree with Commissioner Fischler that such policy is much more effective than subsidies, which would cement existing structure. However, I am less convinced that our farmers will be better off.

I have no intention to turn this debate on enlargement into a pure "piggy-bank operation". It is not simply good enough. But I have a duty to advocate Slovak farmers here with an honest reasoning and the same vigour as Mr. Fischler did. The Commission proposal for a ten years transitional period is supported by an argument that farmers from candidate countries are paying much less than their colleagues from the EU member states in terms of labour costs, acquisition of land and energy inputs. However, this current advantage will be eliminated in the perspective of two or three years by the market development and hence, the economic conditions will be significantly different. Even today the inputs of our farmers are on the EU level as they are purchased for world prices.

Obviously, it is correct to say that our farmers will be less competitive that the EU farmers with less money received under presently discussed financial framework. Therefore, the Slovak Government would prefer to shorten the proposed transitional period and guarantee the equal treatment to our farmers starting from 2007 instead of 2013. Then, the Slovak farmers will be able to meet the expectations of the EU's citizens clearly presented in many opinion pools. Our society will promote the respect of environment. Our producers will adapt production to consumer's requirements. Our agriculture will be more competitive on international markets and we will enhance the diversification of agriculture products and favour organic production. The agriculture does not only produce food. It is multifunctional and it is up to us support all these functions. Finally, we shall not create a climate of mistrust, so that a farmer from the border region of Slovakia would be treated worse than his neighbour who lives in Austria just across the border.

The Slovak Government would welcome the European Union to review the Common Agricultural Policy by the end of this year with a clear message to candidate countries concerning this issue. In the face of the mid-term development of CAP we expect a decrease in institutionalised prices and prices in general, whereas the quotas system applied to milk and sugar will be maintained with a possible decrease in real prices and quotas. The criteria for the provision of direct payments will be changed and the rural development programmes will become more important than the commodity programs. Indeed, the assistance from the structural funds will be strengthened. Such development would accelerate and facilitate the accession process of the candidate countries by relative equalisation of our price levels with that of the European Union and our consumers would not experience a price shock caused by increasing food prices.

Of course, it is one thing to make political declarations and another one to deliver them. We need to ensure that the mechanisms of funding are up to the job. This means, certainly, that the technical details and the practical questions, which definitely need to be clarified before political decisions are taken, must first be sorted out at a lower level including a discussion on production quotas and many other aspects of financial framework. And this is where we often run into difficulties. The process has tended to dominate substance, gaining political scores has often outweighed a needed consensus.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me continue with the second topic -- the migration. We, the politicians, shall be prepared to cope with these phenomena and you, the academics, shall help the society to research and understand it.

There are every indications that we are close to witness the beginning of a trend most likely accelerating during the 21st century -- an increasing rate of growth of the world's migrant population, driven by rapid declines in fertility in the more advanced regions, urbanisation, technology development, economic integration and globalisation. The "Social Situation Report 2002" recently released by the Commission focuses on mobility trends within, into and out of the European Union and the implications thereof. It shows that "even doubling immigration rates and simultaneously doubling fertility rates will not, on their own, make a significant contribution to securing sustainable labour markets and pensions systems". Net migration into the European Union was just above 680.000 in 2000. Some other reliable sources on migration clearly show that a relatively small share of migrants, approximately 17%, came from the candidate states, but most of them younger than from other countries and also better educated. On the other hand the majority of EU regions are likely to see their populations stagnate or decline before 2015.

Hence, these statistical figures could not adverse a decision of the European Union to successfully negotiate a transitional period of up to seven years on the free movement of workers from some candidate countries including the Slovak Republic. But I believe that the post-accession reality will encourage most of present members of the European Union to fully liberalise their labour market.

Concerns expected by a number of EU member states referring a massive influx of cheap labour force from candidate countries are partly counterweighted by alarms which are sounded in my country over the potential damage that the emigration of the highly-skilled can cause to our development aspirations. The high-skilled are more adaptable with better language skills and find it easier to establish a new social network in the place of their migration. There are members of the EU where shortage in skills to sustain the rapid growth of knowledge-based industries has given rise to a significant opening of doors to migrant workers. At present, migrant workers are mainly concentrated in the Czech Republic with approximately 30.000 Slovaks who in the last year shifted to work there. With the total of 45.000 migrant workers the Slovak Republic still receives more labour seekers from abroad than the number of Slovak citizens who are employed abroad. However, we can understand that the transitional period applied to the free movement of workers appears to provide a certain safeguard against wrong migration forecasts in view of low predictability of the migration potential and offers the opportunity to learn about the trends in the course of the further development.

Ladies and gentlemen,
A mature relationship requires a degree of courage and responsiveness by partners to each other's concerns. That does not mean that we have to agree on everything, but it does mean that we should expect to be able to talk frankly and openly about any aspect, affecting our policies. Perhaps, we still have to turn away from the unreasonable concerns and groundless fears when the enlargement preparations seem to be getting entangled in details. We should do all we can to make the enlarged European Union work and work well. There is no other sensible option. But a partnership involves a communication in both directions, it involves the principle of give and take. Let me ensure you that the Slovak Government understands that and I hope that the politicians and citizens of the EU's members will understand it too.

Thank you very much for your attention.