Several decades ago, leaders of six European countries with an inclusive vision of Europe and strong courage started a construction without precedent, the European Union. The remarkable construction evolved not only concerning the number of the Member States, but also in terms of institutional and functional development. Nowadays, the European Union is one of the most important changing factor concerning the governance and the policy-making process at European level and not only, and there is no doubt that the EU will continue to grow as an increasing number of countries express interest in membership.This paper reveals in a comparative perspective the path to European Union Accession, and is based on documentary analysis, using strategy-level documents of the countries and the Progress Reports the European Commission provided during the past enlargement.
Oct. 2010 marked the 5th ann¿y. of the EU¿s decision to proceed with formal negotiations with Turkey toward full membership in the EU. It also marked the beginning of the annual period when all three EU institutions, the Council, Comm¿n., and Parliament provide their assessment of the progress Turkey had made in the accession process over the last year and to issue recommend. on how Turkey¿s accession process should proceed. Despite changes taking place in Turkey, its EU accession process continued at a relatively slow pace. Contents of this report: The EU Accession Process; Turkey¿s Initial Path to EU Accession; Current Status of Turkey¿s Accession; The Cyprus Dilemma; U.S. Perspectives; Assessment. This is a print on demand report.
European Union Enlargement provides a comparative analysis of the post-war European policies of those states that joined the European Union between 1973 and 1995. The volume draws upon new empirical research in order to investigate the policies that these 'newcomer' states have had towards Europe since 1945, with an emphasis on their experience of membership and its possible Europeanising effect. A final comparative chapter draws the national European policies of the 'newcomers' together and outlines what they have brought to the EU. The book also tests integration theories against the available evidence, demonstrating their limited explanatory value and the economic, political and cultural specificity of different national paths towards EU integration.
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.
This report provides a brief overview of the European Union's (EU's) accession process and Turkey's path to EU membership. The U.S. Congress has had a long-standing interest in Turkey as a NATO ally and partner in regional foreign policy and energy security issues.
October 2011 will mark the sixth anniversary of the European Union's (EU)decision to proceed with formal negotiations with Turkey toward full membership in the Union. It will also mark the beginning of the annual period when all three EU institutions, the Council, Commission, and Parliament, provide their assessment of the progress Turkey has made or failed to accomplish in the accession process over the previous year and to issue recommendations on whether and how Turkey's accession process should proceed. For the 2010 assessments, none of the institutions provided the kind of positive endorsement of the accession talks that pro-EU supporters in Turkey would have hoped for, leading some to believe that the EU might be losing interest in Turkey and that some in Turkey have become even more disillusioned with the EU. Contents of this report: The EU Accession Process; Turkey's Initial Path to EU Accession; Current Status of Turkey's Accession; Assessment; U.S. Perspective. This is a print on demand report.
The Uniting of Europe provides an accessible introduction to the history of European integration and places European unification within a wider political and economic context The book shows how institutional developments have been conditioned by wider international considerations. The Uniting of Europe considers: * the impact of the Cold War and the superpowers on Europe * Britain's decision to join the Community * the consequences of German reunification * the problem of nationalism in Eastern Europe * key personalities, parties, regimes and political systems. This Second edition brings the history of the European Union up to date to include the Amsterdam and Nice treaties, as well as other contemporary issues such as the impact of events in Yugoslavia, the changing relationship with the US and British membership of the single currency.
The authors uniquely present the Turkish view of integration within the broad context of the debates on Europeanisation and sovereignty, but with a specific focus on the internal debates and issues in Turkey itself.
This book aims at uncovering the main obstacles and challenges to the Turkish accession to the European Union. Turkey's membership is one of the most important steps for the future of the European Union in terms of its integration and identity. The book provides a succinct analysis of the process and its future implications.
