AP

Legislators of the European Union (EU) assembly on Wednesday strongly endorsed plans to take in up to 10 new members in 2004, but urged candidate countries to step up the fight against corruption and improve protection of ethnic minorities.
Presenting reports on the EU's enlargement plans, two key parliamentary committees also called on the hopefuls to keep fiscal discipline, speed up adoption of EU laws and strengthen their weak administration and slow courts.

"Some member countries are afraid that corruption will grow (in the EU after eastward enlargement). It is very important for our single market to fight against this cancer," said Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.

The committee report, due to be approved by the whole parliament in June, asks the candidates to present comprehensive accounts of their efforts to stem corruption and beef up rights of ethnic minorities before they conclude EU accession talks.

The second report, by the EU Parliament's Budgetary Committee, urged the EU's 15 member states not to allow their national political squabbles to delay enlargement.

EU members will face tough decisions late in 2002 on how to fund the bloc's expansion without putting excessive strain on the EU budget while making it financially worthwhile for the candidates to join.

Wealthy EU members, such as Germany, are afraid that their payments to the EU budget would grow beyond manageable levels unless the bloc cuts its costly farm and regional aid policies. Poorer EU countries, such as Spain, refuse to give up their current subsidies from the EU to free funds for new members.

According to the agenda of the 15-nation bloc, by the end of 2002 it could wrap up negotiations with the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Bulgaria and Romania hope to join later.