EU candidates need practical guidance, says Irish expert

EU candidate countries are sick of bureaucrats in Brussels sending experts to give them lectures on joining the union, according to a leading consultant in European Union affairs.

The European Commission should give Central and Eastern European countries resources to develop skills and decide what they need to learn about joining the EU, said Dr Seán McCarthy.

Organisations and companies in Ireland now have a golden opportunity to offer practical advice and develop links with these countries, he added. “I hear them saying: ‘We want skills we can use tomorrow. Give us the money and we will decide who we want to bring down to talk to us.’”