EU HAILS SWEDISH VOTE BUT WORRIES ABOUT EAST

By Tom Buerkle

(International Herald Tribune, 15-11-1994)

BRUSSELS - The European Union celebrated the membership endorsement of Swedish voters on Monday, but the festive atmosphere may not last long.

With northern enlargement effectively ensured, Europe's leaders now turn their sights to the much more complex task of embracing the fledgling democracies of Eastern Europe, a job that will dominate the EU agenda through the end of the decade.

That will require a far-reaching examination of the bloc's governing procedures, including the limiting or scrapping of the national veto, at a conference starting in 1996. That is a prospect that is already polarizing France as next spring's presidential election approaches and that threatens to isolate Britain from its partners.

"It will become ever more apparent that our decision-making process is too cumbersome," a German diplomat said. "We have to do something about it."

In addition, the Union will have to agree on a drastic overhaul of the farm and development subsidies that make up the vast bulk of EU spending if it is to afford membership for the poorer Eastern neighbors.

Still, officials were ebullient Monday after Swedes followed voters in Austria and Finland in approving EU membership. The verdict "once again confirms the great attractiveness of united Europe," said the German chancellor, Helmut Kohl.

Business leaders had campaigned vigorously for a "yes" vote, saying EU membership was vital to maintain Sweden's attractiveness for investment. Financial markets endorsed that view on Monday as the Swedish stocks jumped more than 2 per-cent, interest rates declined and the krona surged more than I percent to 4.6840 Deutsche marks.

Parliament must ratify the membership treaty, but that was viewed as a formality. Anti-EU parliamentarians in Helsinki, who had held up a vote there in hopes of a Swedish rejection, conceded Monday that they had little chance of prevailing in a ratification vote expected late this week.

The result also boosted prospects that voters in Norway would approve membership on Nov. 29. Polls show that Norwegians, who rejected membership in 1972, would be inclined to do so again but would split evenly after a Swedish "yes."

Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland urged voters on Monday to follow their neighbors rather than standing isolated on the doorstep of Europe, while the Center Party leader, Anne Lahnstein, head of the "no" campaign, warned against government "scare tactics."

EU officials said a rejection in Norway would not be too damaging or surprising, given the country's fierce independence. In contrast, however, the Swedish vote was pivotal because the country is the richest, most populous and most influential diplomatically of the four applicants.

The German diplomat predicted that the new EU members would play a vital role in getting the Union to turn toward Eastern Europe, since they have much deeper trade and cultural links with the former Soviet satellites. He also foresaw them buoying the forces for free trade and better environmental protection within the Union.

"For these three areas, we need a strong Scandinavian input," the diplomat said.

The internal reforms needed to prepare the Union for taking on as many as 10 Eastern countries are already proving divisive, though. Karl Lamers, a member of the Bundestag and a confidant of Mr. Kohl, has caused a stir by calling for a core group of countries led by Germany, France and the Benelux nations to blaze a trail of deeper integration, including a single currency, even as the Union membership expands.

The proposal has been rejected by Prime Minister John Major of Britain, who seeks a looser grouping of EU nations,

In France, meanwhile, Jacques Chirac, the Gaullist presidential candidate, has appealed to EU skeptics by calling for a referendum before adopting a single currency.

Tom BUERKLE