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The most important project in the history of the European Union (EU), namely the European integration, is nowadays at its most critical stage. One of its major integral parts, the enlargement of the EU, is progressing at a satisfactory rate and we do hope that the aspirations of the peoples of the applicant countries to join the European family of nations will soon be realized. To this end, we are pleased with the Work Programme of the Belgian Presidency which has included enlargement in the list of seven areas where action is required and initiatives will be taken. Moreover, we expect that the momentum reached during the last months, especially during the Swedish Presidency, vis-à-vis the accession negotiations will continue during the full term of the Belgian Presidency and a satisfactory number of chapters be closed during this 2^nd half of 2001.

We are also pleased with the Belgian Presidency for the emphasis it placed on the future of the European Union, an area of vital importance for the goal of European integration. It is evident that the European Union will have to go through not only a face-lift but a total transformation in order to achieve this highly desirable goal. It is also widely accepted that a European Union of 27 or more member states cannot function efficiently and effectively with the existing shape and system of governance, especially under the new prevailing European and international conditions like the awareness of the citizens with regard to EU affairs and the expansion of globalization.

Following the "Declaration on the Future of the European Union" which was adopted at Nice, the European Union has embarked on a process and a debate that will lead to a new Intergovernmental Conference in 2004. The Belgian Presidency has indeed given the necessary consideration to this debate, as shown in its Work Programme, and we are convinced that the Laeken Declaration, which will hopefully be adopted at the end of 2001, will be a comprehensive document outlining the various parameters governing the debate and containing appropriate initiatives for the continuation of this process.

As far as the "Declaration on the Future of the European Union" is concerned, we are very pleased with the reference made to the candidate States. However, we would very much like to see how exactly the candidate States will be associated with this process. We are also satisfied with the last paragraph of the Declaration stating that those candidate States which have concluded accession negotiations with the Union shall be invited to participate in the Conference, while those candidate States which have not concluded their accession negotiations shall be invited as observers.

We strongly believe that the future of the European Union is a very important issue concerning also the candidate States, which will sooner or later become full members of the Union. In particular, we think that the national Parliaments of both the Member States and the candidate States, which represent the people, should be involved in the process and the debate as much as possible. To this end, we welcome paragraph 5 of the "Declaration on the Future of the Union" which says that the process should address, inter alia, the role of national Parliaments in the European architecture.

The Cyprus House of Representatives is very much interested in contributing to the process and the debate on the future of the Union, through a series of activities. Most importantly, it plans to engage in a long process of meetings and discussions with the citizens and representative groups like the trade unions, professional groups and associations, European related associations etc. The House also plans to promote a dialogue with the citizens on the future of the Union through a forum which will be set up on its Internet site.

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