Towards a New Eastern Enlargement of the EU and Beyond (original) (raw)
The European Union and the Challenge of Enlargement
Marmara Avrupa araştırmaları dergisi, 2015
The objective of the article is to assess the impact of enlargement on the evolution of the relationship between deepening and widening of the Community. The article deals with the enlargements of the 1970s and 1980s, the 1995 enlargement and the probable Eastern enlargement of the EU and how they affect the process of deepening of the Community. Having presented the evidence that widening has so far been accompanied by modest deepening via limited institutional reform which resulted in the eventual extension of the powers of the EC's institutions, it concludes by arguing that the future enlargements of the EU will succeed only if widening is reconciled with deepening in a Community model of differentiated integration.
The process of EU enlargement towards south-eastern Europe: current challenges and perspectives
SEER-South-East Europe Review for Labour and …, 2007
This article analyses the underlying processes of EU enlargement towards south-eastern Europe. An exposition of key moments of this process will be given, in addition to appraising and examining all relevant policies and mechanisms designed to encourage EU enlargement. In order to facilitate an easier, more complete and broader comprehension of the process of enlargement towards the south-east, an overview of the enlargement process towards earlier incomers from central and eastern Europe will also be offered.
The 7Ds for Sustainability Extended, 2024
European integration has historically advanced through parallel steps towards deepening and widening cooperation. In our times, marked by the outbreak of a persistent poly-crisis, the EU again needs to move forward decisively with both dimensions of European integration. The containment of aggressive Russian revisionism has made it a strategic priority to accelerate the accession to the EU of all countries on the continent that share European norms and values. This paper argues that the successful completion of the current EU enlargement process requires reforms on three fronts: (1) EU governance needs to become more effective, (2) the Union’s enlargement policy must be reinvigorated and (3) accession conditionality must be made credible again.
Reforming by Hope, Will or Necessity? EU Integration in Times of Enlargement
Rome, IAI, October 2024, 7 p. (IAI Commentaries ; 24|64), 2024
The revival of the EU’s enlargement policy as a geostrategic imperative following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has sparked discussions about the Union’s internal readiness to welcome additional members. The potential accession of up to nine countries from the post-Soviet space and the Western Balkans has been widely associated with the urgent need to reform the Union.
The Past, Present, and Future of EU Enlargement
From the founding days of the European Coal and Steel Community ("ECSC') in 1952, European integration has been designed as an open access model. At least in principle, every European State has the right to join. And in spite of the somewhat mixed reviews the European Union (EU) has been getting from its citizens over the years, it has shown a remarkable and sustained attractiveness to those not yet among its members. The main reason is, undoubtedly, that the EU has been successful in its primary mission, namely to bring peace and prosperity to a continent that was regularly torn apart by violent conflict ever since historic records exist. At first, only Western Europe was able to benefit but right when the impact of European integration on peace and prosperity in the region was beginning to be taken for granted, the challenge of expanding the mission to all of Europe presented itself. As we all know, the EU has meanwhile grown from 6 Western founding members to 28 current members and now encompasses virtually the entire geographic range of Europe. One additional country managed to sneak in through the backdoor without a formal accession procedure. Only two countries, Norway and Switzerland, have ever decided against accession, and only one territory, Greenland, has ever decided to leave the EU. No fewer than eight more countries are right now at various stages of accession preparation, and several more may yet decide to apply. Thus, enlargement is an ongoing story and the map of the EU will still be re-drawn several more times before its final borders can be determined. At the same time, the procedure for accession negotiations is regulated only in very superficial terms, which have remained largely unchanged over time. Yet, the procedure has evolved considerably in practice. As always, when the law on a particular question provides only a basic framework, the discretionary powers of those who apply the law greatly increase. The Council and the Commission have not shied away from making use of those discretionary powers. It is the purpose of the present article to show how individual Member States, or rather individual leaders of those Member States, via the unanimity requirement in the Council, were able to impose their views on enlargement in the early years. Secondly, we will show that this power has shifted noticeably to the Commission as the number of Member States has grown. Nevertheless, strong individual leaders in the Member States can still put their mark on the timetable and conditions of enlargement. There just seem to be fewer of those distinguished leaders today. Thirdly, we try to predict the use of discretionary powers in ongoing and future accession negotiations. To that end, we analyze how accession negotiations were conducted with the Central and Eastern European Countries ("CEECs") which joined in 2004 and 2007, how and why the approach was modified for the negotiations with Croatia, and how and why the strategy is already different again for the next group of countries.
The European Union’s Enlargement Prospects: a Viable Project or an Abandoned Idea?
The Future of the European Union, eds. Konstanty Adam Wojtaszczyk, Tadeusz Wallas, Paweł Stawarz, 2023
The purpose of this chapter is to assess the prospects for continuing the processes of expanding the membership of the European Union. For this purpose, the basic reasons why the EU's membership is so attractive to many countries were indicated first. The course of previous enlargements has also been outlined, including in particular the great enlargement to the East in 2004-2013. Then, an analysis of the current situation was made, presenting the basic conditions and positions on the idea of further enlargement presented, on the one hand, by the EU itself, and on the other-by the countries currently aspiring to membership. This required the characterization of two groups of such countries, located in the broadly understood areas of Eastern Europe and the Balkans (focusing on case studies of Ukraine and Turkey). All this made it possible to indicate the general prospects for further enlargement of the European Union.
The European Union's Eastward Enlargement
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2002
In July 1997 the Commission of the European Union presented its Agenda 2000. This document not only suggested to start accession talks with some East and Central European countries (CEEC) in early 1998 but it also provided proposals for a restructuring of EU expenditures. On this background this contribution discusses the state of readiness of the Central and East European countries to become EU members over the next few years and the Union's capacity to absorb up to ten CEEC over the next decade or so. This study concludes that the European Union has become an anchor of stability to the CEEC that guarantees both democracy and economic security-much more than could be expected only a couple of years ago. The Union's readiness to accept the membership of CEEC has, in a decisive way, contributed to their societal, political and economic stabilization. There is almost a contest among the CEEC on which one is going to meet the accession criteria first and best. The enlargement process, however, is connected to problems the resolution of which realistically postpone its successful conclusion at least into the year 2005. The main reasons are (1) the welfare gap between the EU area and the CEEC, (2) the need for more institutional and economic changes in the CEEC to make them ready for accession , and, most importantly, (3) the necessity for the European Union to prepare herself for accession by a comprehensive financial reform and fundamental institutional changes. Kurzfassung Im Juli 1997 stellte die Kommission der Europäischen Union ein Dokument mit dem Titel Agenda 2000 vor, in dem nicht nur vorgeschlagen wird, Anfang 1998 mit einigen ostmitteleuropäischen Ländern Beitrittsverhandlungen aufzunehmen, sondern auch Schritte zur Reform der EU-Ausgabenstruktur vorgeschlagen werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund diskutiert der vorliegende Beitrag zum einen die Fähigkeit der ostmitteleuroäischen (OME-) Staaten, in den nächsten Jahren Mitglied der EU zu werden, und zum anderen die Kapazität der Union, im Verlauf der nächsten zehn oder mehr Jahre bis zu zehn OME-Staaten zu absorbieren. Diese Untersuchung kommt zu dem Ergebnis, daß die Union in sehr viel stärkerem Maße als zunächst offenkundig zum Stabilitätsanker für Entwicklungen in Ostmitteleuropa geworden ist. Ihre grundsätzliche Bereitschaft, sich unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen für die OME-Staaten zu öffnen, hat entscheidend zu ihrer gesellschaftlichen, politischen und wirtschaftlichen Stabilisierung beigetragen. Zwischen ihnen findet geradezu ein Wettbewerb statt, wer zuerst und am besten die von der EU festgelegten Kriterien zum Beitritt erfüllt. Der Erweiterungsprozeß ist jedoch mit einer Reihe von Problemen verbunden, die dessen Abschluß bis mindesten in das Jahr 2005 verlegen dürften-und das gilt sogar für die am weitesten transformierten OME-Staaten. Die Hauptgründe bestehen darin, daß es (1) noch über mehrere Jahrzehnte ein erhebliches Wohlstandsgefälle zwischen dem EU-Bereich und OME geben wird, daß (2) noch eine Vielzahl von weiteren institutionellen und wirtschaftlichen Veränderungen in den OME-Ländern stattfinden müssen, um sie beitrittsfähig werden zu lassen, und vor allem, daß (3) die EU sich selbst durch eine umfassende Finanzreform und institutionelle Veränderungen auf eine Erweiterung vorbereiten muß.
EU Enlargement: From a Success Story to Fatigue
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 2013
This paper examines the prospect of European Union (EU) enlargement as a crucial step in the context of “enlargement fatigue”. It reviews the enlargement process in the post-2000s. From the late 1950 onwards , the idea of European unification has gradually been emphasized by an attempt to bring peace and stability. Between 1957 and 1995, the EU grew from six to fifteen members. The high point of this development was reached in 2004 and 2007, with an inclusion of Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), who had the communist traditions. After a decade of difficult economic and political reforms, the applicant countries finally edged toward centre stage. Since then, the debate has focused on the question of whether enlargement is fundamental to European unity and how far new member states can contribute to European integration and share the Unin’s benefits. The study relies on the key findings from the European Commission and the number of independent studies in this field. The...