Introduction. -- Part I. Divergence and convergence in Europe. -- 1. Perceptions and reality : divergence as a structuring element in the eastwards enlargement of the EU. -- 2. Religious and social values. -- 3. Citizenship and national identities. -- 4. Support for democracy and the liberal state. -- 5. The socio-economic gap. -- 6. Conclusions : reality and illusion in the enlarged EU. -- Part II. Implications for an enlarged EU : the problem of the new border. -- 7. European identity and the bases of political unity. -- 8. Economic transition, accession and globalisation. -- 9. Managing the new eastern border. -- 10. Conclusion and policy recommendations.
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.
Europe's economic and political landscape is changing dramatically. The demise of the socialist CMEA and the USSR has allowed eastern European economies to open up and caused Russia/the CIS to engage in a series of difficult reforms which have been supported by the G-7 and the International Monetary Fund plus the World Bank on the one hand, and, on the other hand, by the EU and the EBRD. While some of the (early) Visegrad countries apparently were rather successful in their transition attempt, systemic transition approaches in other countries - Romania and Bulgaria - and, above all, in Russia largely were a failure. Economic hardship, social unrest, political radicalization and the international spreading of criminal activities can be identified as problems from the failure of Russia's first transition attempt. This book deals - from an international perspective - with the postsocialist countries in Europe, i. e. there is a focus on eastern enlargement and on Russia on the one hand, on the other hand the topic is which international influences and effects will emerge from EU enlargement and the Russian transition. While chapter A exclusively deals with major problems of eastern enlargement and the policy options for dealing with this difficult problem, chapter B is devoted to the Russian transformation crisis. There the analysis has a focus on Russia in its own right but also on the potential negative spillovers of a Russian transformation disaster which could occur in the late 1990s.
The initial enthusiasm of many EU citizens at the 'return to Europe' of former members of the Soviet bloc has turned to anxiety at the realization of the possible adverse consequences of enlargement. Potential undesirable effects of enlargement, in particular for labour markets and social conditions, can be met by appropriately designed policies which are so far not in place or planned. Rather than legitimizing such fears, politicians and policy-makers must dispel them by leading the EU and its members to adopt these measures. Enlargement also offers the EU a window of opportunity to accelerate unavoidable reforms of structural policies, agricultural policies and their financing. These are the premises of this new CEPR Policy Paper. The authors outline the key economic and social implications of the prospective accession of the Central and East European countries into the European Union and propose policy recommendations for EU enlargement.
