Eastward Enlargement Of The European Union

In May 2004, eight former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe acceded to the European Union. This new book examines the Eastern expansion of the EU through a tripartite structure, developing an empirical, conceptual and institutional analysis to provide a rounded and substantive account of EU enlargement, with new theoretical insights. The foreword is by written by Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament. John O'Brennan also explores: why the EU decided to expand its membership what factors drove this process forward? how did the institutional environment of the EU influence enlargement outcomes? In this context he comprehensively covers the role of the European Council, Commission and Parliament. This important volume will of great interest to students and scholars of European politics and European Union studies.

Successful eastward enlargement of the EU will be critical to ensuring stability and prosperity for post-Cold War Europe. But enlargement raises difficult issues for the EU and the applicant countries of central and eastern Europe. Is the EU capable of reforming its institutions and policies to cope with 25 or more members? Which central and east Europeans will join, and when? How can we ensure that enlargement brings the economic and security benefits expected of it?This comprehensive study examines in detail the political, economic and security implications of eastward enlargement for both East and West. The authors present new analyses of the policy issues including the EU budget and pre-accession strategy and of the economic integration likely before and after accession.Based on an extensive series of interviews with key ministers, diplomats, policy-makers, academics and journalists across Europe, this study also provides an informed overview of expectations and attitudes towards enlargement within the EU and in the applicant countries.

In May 2004, eight former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe acceded to the European Union. This new book examines the Eastern expansion of the EU through a tripartite structure, developing an empirical, conceptual and institutional analysis to provide a rounded and substantive account of EU enlargement, with new theoretical insights. The foreword is by written by Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament. John O'Brennan also explores: why the EU decided to expand its membership what factors drove this process forward? how did the institutional environment of the EU influence enlargement outcomes? In this context he comprehensively covers the role of the European Council, Commission and Parliament. This important volume will of great interest to students and scholars of European politics and European Union studies.

First published in 1998, this volume's approach is intended to be positive rather than normative and to identify criteria for evaluating which countries should join and the probable consequences of EU enlargement, along with the effects of temporary exclusion from the EU. It is a revised and enlarged version of a background paper first presented at the May 1997 meeting of the European University Institute Working Group on Eastern Enlargement, and published as a European University Institute working paper. Enlargement is widely considered to be the way to spread stability, prosperity and security eastward, and has been agreed to by the Union for that end. Susan Senior Nello is responsible for the economic content of this book, with Karen Smith heading the political and institutional aspects.

What will happen to the EU in the wake of enlargement? What are the institutional and policy-making changes in light of enlargement? This text deals with the theoretical, conceptual and historical processes that led to European Union enlargement.

First published in 1998, this volume's approach is intended to be positive rather than normative and to identify criteria for evaluating which countries should join and the probable consequences of EU enlargement, along with the effects of temporary exclusion from the EU. It is a revised and enlarged version of a background paper first presented at the May 1997 meeting of the European University Institute Working Group on Eastern Enlargement, and published as a European University Institute working paper. Enlargement is widely considered to be the way to spread stability, prosperity and security eastward, and has been agreed to by the Union for that end. Susan Senior Nello is responsible for the economic content of this book, with Karen Smith heading the political and institutional aspects.

The development of EU enlargement has raised many thorny issues unanticipated by the framers of the EC Treaty. A significant upshot of these issues is that the concept of European identity - defined in terms of such factors as culture, history and economics - has supplanted the long-dominant theme of 'widening and deepening, ' particularly since the Union's expansion has become primarily eastward. The major contribution of this important book lies in its analysis of the conceptualization and perception of enlargement from various points of view, focusing on the concerns of stakeholders and the 'identity' conflicts and uncertainties incurred by enlargement initiatives. In the course of its presentation, it details the actual pre-accession Europeanization process and its complex history. Among the key elements discussed are the following: the conflict between 'widening' and 'deepening' and the effect on EU institutional reform; institutional requirements on candidate countries; pre-accession criteria and negotiations; administrative capacity, judicial capacity, and legal approximation in accession states; capacity of the EU to absorb new Member States; and EC law as part of European identity. Also covered are specific historical details of particular pre-accession negotiations (e.g., Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta, and Cyprus), the still inconclusive negotiations with Turkey and the Western Balkan states, and political factors involved in the non-accession of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Assembling powerful evidence and applying incisive analysis, the author's conclusion shows that, absent further (and major) EU institutional reform, it will be difficult for an enlarging Union to continue to 'deliver the goods.' A watershed in the continuing great debate on the fulfilment of the EC Treaty's determination to foster and promote 'an ever closer union of the peoples of Europe, ' this book will prove invaluable to anybody interested in the European integration project, particularly lawyers, academics, officials and policymakers in the EU Member States.