Agenda 2000

Agenda 2000 is an action programme adopted by the Commission on 15 July 1997 as an official response to requests by the Madrid European Council in December 1995 that it present a general document on enlargement and the reform of the common policies and a communication on the Union's future financial framework after 31 December 1999. Agenda 2000 tackles all the questions facing the Union at the beginning of the 21st century. Attached to it are the Commission's opinions on the countries that have applied for Union membership.

Agenda 2000 is in three parts:

•the first addresses the question of the European Union's internal operation, particularly the reform of the common agricultural policy and of the policy of economic and social cohesion. It also contains recommendations on how to face the challenge of enlargement in the best possible conditions and proposes putting in place a new financial framework for the period 2000-06;
•the second proposes a reinforced pre-accession strategy, incorporating two new elements: the partnership for accession and extended participation of the applicant countries in Community programmes and the mechanisms for applying the Community acquis;
•the third consists of a study on the impact of the effects of enlargement on European Union policies.

These priorities were fleshed out in some twenty legislative proposals put forward by the European Commission in 1998. The Berlin European Council reached an overall political agreement on the legislative package in 1999 with the result that the measures were adopted the same year. They cover four closely linked areas for the period 2000 to 2006:

•reform of the common agricultural policy,
•reform of the structural policy,
•pre-accession instruments,
•financial framework.

See:

•Accession partnership
•Deepening
•Enlargement
•Financial perspective 2000-2006
•Incorporation of the Community acquis
•Objectives 1, 2 and 3
•Pre-accession strategy