The European Union and Enlargement IR1501 Issues in International Relations.

The European Union and Enlargement

IR1501 Issues in International Relations

Previous Enlargement

• Original members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.●1973 Denmark, Ireland and the United

Kingdom ●1981 Greece●1986 Portugal and Spain●1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden●2004 10 new members

EU Enlargement

• Political • Economic• Social

EU Enlargement: Questions

• Why did the EU expand?• How did the EU expand?• What were the political implications of

expansion?• How did EU change to prepare for 15

new members?• What were the political, economic and

social requirements of new member-states?

• What is the future for EU expansion?

Why did the EU expand?

• Changes the internal order of the EU;• Allows for greater divisions in the EU;• Forces painful economic and

institutional adaptations required of the applicant country;

• Encourages anxiety over immigration in the existing member-states.


• Three views:1. Rationalist approach2. Ethical-political approach3. Moral approach


• Three views and hypotheses:1. Rationalist approach

• The EU would concentrate only on those states that offered the most gain

2. Ethical-political approach• The EU would concentrate on those states that

had an element of kinship

3. Moral approach• The EU would concentrate on democratic states

outside the community

Who supported enlargement?

• ‘Drivers’ vs. ‘Brakemen’●Drivers

• those bordering the CEEC’s (except for Italy and Greece)

●Brakemen• Recent new states (ex. Spain)• All others (except for Britain)


• Drivers: two groups●Limited round focusing on Central

Europe (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia)

●The ‘big bang’ enlargement


Limited Enlargement

Inclusive Enlargement

Drivers Austria, Finland, Germany

Britain, Denmark, Sweden

BrakemenBelgium, Luxembourg,Netherlands

France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain


• Reasons for support●Geographical proximity

• Interdependence• Shared borders• Economic gains

Export Share Output Share Disproportionately high share in exports Germany 41.2% 27.4% Austria 8.8% 2.7% Finland 3.1% 1.5% Roughly proportional share in exports Italy 16.1% 14.1% Netherlands 4.5% 4.6% Belgium/Luxembourg 3.8% 3.3% Sweden 3.1% 2.9% Denmark 2.0% 2.0% Greece 1.4% 1.4% Disproportionately low share in exports France 7.4% 17.8% Britain 5.6% 13.4% Spain 2.0% 6.8% Ireland 0.6% 0.8% Portugal 0.2% 1.3%

Member state shares of EU exports to Central and Eastern European countries and EU economic output


• Reasons for support●Geographical proximity?●Economic gain?●Influence?

EU Enlargement

• Institutional Arrangements●Copenhagen Criteria●Acquis Communautaire●Madrid European Council●Agenda 2000

EU Enlargement

• Copenhagen Criteria●stability of institutions guaranteeing

democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities;

●the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union;

●the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic & monetary union.

EU Enlargement

• Acquis Communautaire●Treaty of Maastricht 1993●The body of EU law that must be

adopted into domestic law●Acquis politigue●Finalité politique

EU Enlargement

• Madrid European Council●Administration●Judicial Structures

EU Enlargement

• Agenda 2000●Amsterdam IGC 1997 and

Luxembourg European Council 1998• Development of EU• Challenges of Enlargement

– Accession Process – Regular Reports

• Financial framework beyond 2000

EU Enlargement

• Agenda 2000 (regular reports)● 1998-2003

1. Minorities2. Adoption of Acquis3. No delay for 64. Relied on other institutions and NGO’s

EU Enlargement

• The logistics●Should the Commission be re-

weighted?●Should voting change in the Council?●How will the new states be

represented in Parliament?

Political Conditions

• Democracy●Transition●Consolidation●European Union and Democratisation


• Political Conditionality●‘This is achieved by specifying

conditions or even preconditions for support, involving either promises of material aid or political opportunities.’

●Democratic Conditionality


• Democratic Conditionality (three stages)

1. Pre-negotiations2. Actual negotiations3. Once membership begins

Financial Issues

• PHARE● (Poland and Hungary: Aid for

Economic Restructuring)● Three aims:

1. Pre-accession Funds for adoption of the Acquis

2. Structural Funds3. Aimed at Regions and regional

institutions

Financial Issues

• PHARE● Three phases:

• Mark I (1989-97)• Mark II (1997-2000)• Mark III (2000-)

Financial Issues

• Common Agriculture Policy●Reforms at the Copenhagen summit

in December 2002●Direct payments phased-in●Lock-in strategy

Financial Issues

• The Economic and Monetary Union●Euro is obligation for new states●Although when and how is up to state●No states ready yet (euobserver.com)●Criteria: exchange rates, price

stability, interest rates, deficits and the status of central banks

What is the future for EU expansion?• Romania and Bulgaria (2007)• Turkey (2010?)• The Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia,

Serbia, Macedonia, Albania)?• Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia?• North Africa?

‘On the surface, a lot has changed—new hotels, restaurants shops etc in the scenic square mile of central Vilnius. But underneath it is still the same story. The four main levers of corrective power in a democratic country are all broken or bent: the media is discredited by pressure and intimidation; the criminal justice system is ineffective; political parties are about narrow economic interests and egos, not political ideas; and civil society is still an elite project of intellectuals, without any traction on the wider population.’

Conclusion

• Why did the EU expand?• How did the EU expand?• What were the political implications of

expansion?• How did EU change to prepare for 15

new members?• What were the political, economic and

social requirements of new member-states?

• What is the future for EU expansion?

The European Union and Enlargement IR1501 Issues in International Relations.

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