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Risks and challenges of the EU expansion
周大勇 (Zhou,Dayong)

I. Introduction
For several years now the European Union is discussing a possible enlargement, because several European countries have applied for membership in the EU. These are especially the former socialist countries in Eastern Europe, that have clearly turned towards the west since the collapse of the iron curtain. These countries are Bulgaria, the Baltic countries Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary.

In addition Turkey, Cyprus and Malta are trying for quite some time already to join the EU. These application are not to be accepted without any further deliberation because they do bring along some risks and the consequences are hard to distinguish therefore these countries are not very expected joining the European Union in the near future and will therefore not be included in the following evaluation.
II. Risks and challenges
If we wants to evaluate the risks and challenges of an upcoming enlargement of the EU, we should first take into account experiences gained during previous expansion which were to some extent comparable. Here the southern expansion from 1986 should be mentioned where two economically pathetic countries sought admission to the then European Community. The admission procedure of these two candidates, being Spain and Portugal, were lengthy and considered very problem bearing. Especially the amount of produce that would add to the already existing agricultural over-production of the Community was seen to be a problem since it would increase the load on the European budget.

But seen from a global economical perspective the joining of Spain and Portugal was overall positive for the EC and the two countries, although Spain struggled with a further rise of unemployment and disparities within the Community were further amplified.

The disparities within the Union will most certainly increase when it comes to an eastern expansion, but the agricultural problem will not be an issue, because the candidates have not got their focus on agriculture, already because of their communist heritage which focused on industry rather than on agriculture or the tertiary sector.

In case of the approaching expansion towards Eastern Europe the Union will have to resolve several problems, the most severe being without any doubt the financial one that will go along with the extension, estimated to be ?5 - ?6 billion annually, just for the technologically underdeveloped agriculture in the new member states.

The financial problem will also lead to a temporary discontent among the population of the existing members, since the financial load on the countries will cause budget cuts because the new members will undoubtedly belong to the payees rather than the payers. Especially the Mediterranean members, for instance Italy, Spain etc. fear cuts in their subsidies particularly the agricultural ones, and agriculture is already making up the biggest part of the EU′s budget.

Of course it is also to be questioned whether with the joining of economically weak countries the economies of the "richer" members are not weakened.

What should be taken into consideration as well is the impact the joining will have on the population of the candidates, especially considering the rights they will gain when they are citizens of the European community. They do then have the right to settle and work anywhere within the community, this could lead to a large amount of people pouring into the old member countries trying to seek work there and make their living. And since most of the European countries are already struggling with high unemployment the high rates could be pushed up further and the discontent among the population could worsen, especially against the background of Neo-Nazis in Germany and other countries such as Britain or Italy. Off course this would only be a temporary problem, which would solve itself over time as the new members develop economically, but still this could prove to be a major issue.

Of course their comes also a minor problem along with the expansion, this problem being even more languages than the twelve, already being used, in which EU communications would have to be carried out adding to the already huge administrative body of the European Union and also causing further costs of the EU.
But because the expansion represents a political necessity one should also take into account the positive aspects caused by such a historic event. With the expansion the continent would take a huge step towards the ethnic integration within Europe, different cultures would be facing each other and could also profit from each other. Also the global competitiveness of the EU against the USA and Asia would improve and another step towards global peace would be undertaken.
III. Changes in administration
It is obvious that an expansion potentially including ten countries would not be feasible without fundamental institutional reforms.

For instance with the existing structure of the Union which allocates most of the power to the European Council, where each member state has one vote, it would be imaginable that smaller members would have a majority over the larger members. Except for Poland, which is by population comparable to Spain and would consequently be a large member, all other candidates are relatively small in size an population.

Another point is that with more than twenty members the decision finding and making process needs to be completely reconsidered, so it represents the actual size of the member countries in terms of population rather than giving each member a veto and especially one single vote. The existing voting and weighting system is also already making the decision finding process a painfully and lengthy one, another ten different opinions added to this would make it virtually impossible to come to an agreement that at least partially satisfies all members and is therefore being supported and not vetoed against.

A changed "legislature" would also keep the democratic thought that the entire EU is based on alive and not vanish it like the existing system.

What should also be pointed out is the fact that an increase in members could lead to new coalitions within the Union and also increase competition among the individual countries. There are even critics that fear that an eastern expansion could lead to a shift in power towards the reunified Germany, since the potential new members are already heavily bound and leaning towards Germany.

What should also be considered is a change in European agricultural policy, which should actually be reformed already. The system of milk quotas, subsidies etc. which subsidises an over-production in many areas, just not to infuriate the farmers, because smaller farms would not be able to survive without the subsidies and the entire face of the European primary sector would change is completely outdated. This system could definitely no longer be kept up with even more farmers to support.
IV. Successful without absorbing the new members?
It is obvious that this question needs to be answered with a clear no. The existing members of the EU are already being absorbed by it and they have all chosen this faith. The goals of the European Union do state the loss of sovereignty in the areas of economic and currency politics, the latter one already realized, also in the political areas of social politics, education, research, consumer protection, health and also environmental issues. Now one could argue how many of these goals need to be realized in order for the EU to be successful, from the British point of view for example the cooperation in economic issues and the creation of the single market have already been enough, considering their opinion towards the Maastricht treaty.

If one would see it from the British point of view the EU could be successful without absorbing the new members, but since most other countries would like to see the above mentioned goals implied and would like to realize the dream of de Gaulle, Adenauer and others of "the United States of Europe", the new members would surrender a huge part of their sovereignty and consequently would be absorbed by the EU, especially considering that they will join in a couple of years at the earliest when European integration will hopefully have advanced beyond the point it is today.
Another point one could consider is what would happen if the European integration would further advance up to the point of the United States of Europe without any new countries joining. This would create another superpower alongside the USA and the then non-members would live in the shadow of the EU or whatever its name would be by that time and also be absorbed by the enormous power, in any terms, of their big neighbour just like the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico, even the entire Americas are by the USA. So the conclusion drawn by this could be that the central and eastern European countries would be better off in any case if they joined the EU even if they had to surrender much of their sovereignty.
Sources:

(1) http://www.europa.eu.int/ (March 17th, 2001)
(2) http://idw.tu-clausthal.de/public/zeige_pm.html?pmid=26445 (April 5th, 2001)
(3) Informationen zur politischen Bildung: Europäische Union (BpB, 1995)
(4) Microsoft Encarta 98
(5) Mittel- und Osteuropa auf dem Weg in die Europäische Union (Werner Weidenfeld, Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, 1996)
(6) http://www.e-politik.de/beitrag.cfm?Beitrag_ID=559 (April 1st, 2001)

国家税务局、国家计划委员会


国家税务局、国家计划委员会关于印发《固定资产投资方向调节税商业、物资供销类税目注释》的通知
国税发[1993]40号

1993-05-08国家税务总局


各省、自治区、直辖市及计划单列市计委（计经委）、税务局、中国石油天然气总公司：

　　(通知略)
　　固定资产投资方向调节税商业、物资供销类税目注释
　　一、口岸的商检、海关、边防设施
　　口岸是指供人员、货物和交通工具出入关境的港口、机场、车站和通道等。口岸包括经国务院批准设立的国家级口岸和经地方政府批准设立的地方级口岸。
　　1.口岸的商检设施
　　口岸的商检设施是指国家设立的进出口商品检验部门及其派出机构兴建在口岸的用于对进出口商品的质量、规格、数量、重量和包装是否符合安全、卫生要求实施检验并办理进出口商品鉴定业务的设施。
　　本税目零税率适用范围:业务办公用房、报检用房、检测专用线(如汽车检验线)、大宗港口散装货物的取样设施、通讯设备用房、化验室、微机房、实验室及其仪器设备等。
　　2.口岸的海关设施
　　口岸的海关设施是指国家海关兴建在口岸的用于对进出关境的货物、邮递物品、旅客行李物品和运输工具等进行监管、征收关税并执行查缉走私任务的各种设施。
　　本税目零税率适用范围:业务办公用房、微机房、通讯用房、毒品、邮递物品检查用房、航天器基地用房、各类仓库、验货场、旅客行李物品检查厅、货物报关厅以及经国务院批准的保税区内海关的上述设施。
　　3.口岸的边防设施
　　口岸的边防设施是指中国人民武装警察边防部队在口岸兴建的用于对进出境人员进行检查的房屋以及相应配套设备。
　　本税目零税率适用范围:出入境检查厅、留置审查室、人身检查室、国门构筑物、边境阻拦设施、部队营房、武器库房等。
　　上述税目零税率适用范围均不包括行政办公和生活服务用房的投资。
　　二、废旧物资加工
　　废旧物资加工是指对社会生产和消费过程中产生的可以利用的各种废旧物资进行清选、整理、修配等处理。
　　本税目零税率适用范围:用于从事废旧物资加工的固定资产投资项目。如，分类整理预处理场地、加工厂房以及设备、地中衡、轨道衡、仓库等。
　　本税目适用范围，不包括行政办公和生活服务用房的投资。
　　三、粮棉油加工业(面粉厂、米厂、油厂、酱菜、酱油、醋等)
　　粮棉油加工业是指以粮食、棉花、油料为原料，经过一系列工艺过程，将其制成可供食用或使用产品的工业企业。
　　本税目5%税率适用范围:用于面粉厂、碾米厂、油厂、棉花厂、酱菜厂、酱油厂、醋厂的固定资产投资项目。如厂房、加工设备、烘干塔、水塔、仓库、化验室、地中衡、轨道衡等。
　　四、粮食食品加工(挂面、方便面等)
　　粮食食品加工是指以粮食为主要原料，经过一系列工艺过程，将其制成可供食用产品。
　　本税目5%税率适用范围:用于加工挂面、方便面、米粉等粮食食品的固定资产投资项目。如厂房、仓库加工设备等。
　　五、大豆、玉米综合加工厂
　　大豆、玉米综合加工厂是指以大豆、玉米为主要原料，经过一系列工艺过程，将其加工成食品或饲料的工厂。
　　本税目5%税率适用范围:用于大豆、玉米综合加工厂的固定资产投资项目。如厂房、仓库加工设备等。
　　六、低档饮食服务网点(浴室、修理网点、饮食店、售货店等)
　　低档饮食服务网点是指为方便人民群众生活，在城乡居民区里设立的低标准、小规模的门店。
　　本税目5%税率适用范围:饮食店、售货店、浴室、旅店、摄影部、理发店、洗染店、修理部等网点的业务、经营用房及其服务性设施。
　　七、食品加工(糖果、饼干、巧克力)
　　食品加工是指以农、林、水、畜产品为原料，经过一系列工艺过程，将其制成可供食用的产品。
　　糖果是以砂糖和各种糖浆等为主要原料，按不同风味和特点，添加各种辅料，经过高温熬煮、成型等工序制成的一种固体甜味食品。如水果糖、奶糖、夹心糖、蛋白糖、饴糖、胶姆糖等各类糖果。
　　饼干是以面粉为主要原料，加入各种辅料，经多次压片成型的食品。如儿童饼干、夹心饼干等各类饼干。
　　巧克力是以可可为主要原料，加糖、香料等辅料，经一系列工艺过程加工成的各类制品。
　　本税目30%税率适用范围:用于糖果、饼干、巧克力加工的固定资产投资项目，如厂房、仓库加工设备等。
　　以上各税目注释范围以外的其他建设项目投资适用的税率，应按《暂行条例》的有关条款规定执行。




国家税务总局

一九九三年五月八号