On the threshold of the European Union : a political, economic and legal perspective on the adhesion of Malta and Cyprus

Abstract

Malta and Cyprus are small island states, with similar economies and similar legal traditions. The Cyprus question apart, and as the Commission's Opinions on the applications for membership of the two states show, there are profound similarities between the two states. It is well known that, in recent years, the two states have been engaged in internal programmes of reform intended by the respective governments to modernize those sectors of the economy and of the public and private sectors, which programmes are perceived to be required not merely to achieve greater proximity to the laws and practices of the current Member States of the European Union but are generally intended to modernize the countries' infrastructures- political, economic, legal and social-in accord with modem-day and future requirements, as the imperatives of the globalisation of the world economy and openness to the dictates of liberalized world trade and ever-increasing interdependence and multilateral collaboration demand. There are bound to be, therefore, common problems and experiences, as well as common needs. Certainly, the efforts of recent administrations in the two Mediterranean countries have placed Malta and Cyprus on the fast track to membership of the European Union. Membership negotiations with the two states are due to start six months after the end of the European Union Intergovernmental Conference which commenced at the end of March 1996 and is expected to end about the same time next year.