Chapter 6: European Integration and Enlargement

The Place of Enlargement in European Integration

The European Union integration process has two dimensions, namely, deepening and enlargement. The idea of enlargement can be viewed through the lens of theoretical approaches and their implementations within the context of European integration. There are different theoretical approaches introduced by different scholars in terms of European enlargement and integration. These theories are namely: Functionalism, Security Community, Neo-Functionalism and Social Constructivism and neoinstitutionalism.

The approach of neo-institutionalism is important in terms of the integration-enlargement relationship. The basic assumption of neo-institutionalism is that institutions play an important role in determining behaviors and decisions of political actors.

Count Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi states that the guarantee of peace in Europe passes through founding a political union. His idea was followed by the establishment of Europe’s first federalist movement in 1924, the Pan European Union, which continued its activities until 1932. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Winston Churchill proposed to form a Union in Europe. Following Churchill’s proposal, the Treaty of Dunkirk was signed between France and the United Kingdom in 1947. The treaty laid the groundwork for the Brussels Treaty, which was signed by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 1948. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established on April 4, 1949 and The Council of Europe was founded on May 5, 1949 in London, just one month after NATO was established. European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, 1951), The European Economic Community (EEC, 1958) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM, 1958) were the first enlargements of the EU. The Maastricht Treaty (1992), transformed European Communities into the European Union. In the Copenhagen Summit (1993), The criteria set out in, known as the “Copenhagen Criteria“, serve as a basic guide for the countries wishing to join the Union. The EU does not start negotiations with candidate countries until they demonstrate that they adequately meet the Copenhagen “Political” Criteria, which includes a democratic system of governance, rule of law and presence of institutions guaranteeing human rights and minority rights.

With the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), The Eastern and Central European countries, which gained their independence as a result of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, were involved in the EU’s enlargement policy. The Treaty of Nice (2003), aimed to prepare the Central and Eastern European countries for the accession process and the Union’s decision-making mechanisms. The last important stage in the EU integration process was the Treaty of Lisbon, (2007) in which the number of seats in the Parliament, was set at 751 (750 members + President) taking into consideration the future enlargement of the Union.

What Does The Enlargement of the European Union Mean?

Integration with new members has been a part of the Union since its establishment.

Through enlargement, the Union aims to influence both the domestic and foreign policy behaviors of the countries wishing to join the Union. There is a mutual interaction, in that, while is largely the EU itself that determines the rules of the game in this process, the process also has various transformative effects on the EU. The EU accession process has three stages, all of which are subject to the approval of the existing member states. These stages are:

• Granting the country applying for EU membership the official status of “candidate country” after presentation of the membership perspective;
• Initiation of accession negotiations;
• Accession of the country to the Union by approval of all member states, following the completion of accession negotiations and necessary reforms.

Does the EU Need Enlargement?

From the economic perspective, the enlargement process leads to a rise in the Union’s total GDP, growth of the trade volume with the opening of new markets, creation of cheap labor opportunities, reduction of regional differences and greater overall economic dynamism from the addition of new member states. From the political perspective, the enlargement process enables the EU to spread and secure political stability and democratic rule that respects human rights across the continent, and to increase its diplomatic influence and leverage in the international arena.

As for the participant countries, the main economic benefits of EU membership are economic access to the Union’s domestic market, free movement opportunities, inclusion in the economic and monetary union, increased competitiveness in the external world, and opportunities to utilize the Union’s financial assistance and funds. Politically speaking, there are many reasons that make EU membership appealing to countries, including the opportunity to gain influence and potency in international relations, an advantage that would otherwise be unavailable if they were on their own, and the establishment of democracy and respect for human rights and freedoms through accession negotiations.

Enlargement Procedure and Processes Changes and Developments Since the Establishment of the EU

Applications for EU membership are no longer made to the three communities (ECSC, EEC and EURATOM) separately, but only to the Union. In this sense, full membership means that the new member becomes a member of all three pillars of the EU and also adopts the objective of the Treaty in line with the political unity. Apart from Europeanness, the other criteria a candidate country should meet are set out in the Copenhagen Summit (1993) in light of the experience gained from the first three enlargements and within the scope of the fifth enlargement wave involving the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs):

Political Criteria: Presence of a stable institutional structure guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.

Economic Criteria: Presence of a functioning market economy and a capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union.

Compliance with the Acquis Communautaire: Possession of the capacity to adopt and implement EU legislation, including alignment with the objectives of political, economic and monetary union.

Enlargements in the Historical Development Process of the Union

The European Coal and Steel Community (1951), the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (1957) were founded by Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Union in 1981 raising the number of member states to nine. Greece joined the EU in 1981, Spain and Portugal became the member of the EU in 1986. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1995. Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU in May 2004.Two more countries from eastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania, joined the EU in 2007. Finally Croatia joined the EU in 2013 raising the number of EU members to 28.

The Future of European Integration and Debates on Enlargement in European Public Opinion

The debate on enlargements, as carried out through the EU public opinions, has been quite negative, unlike the opinions expressed by EU officials, who emphasize that the EU should play a wider, deeper and stronger role in the world and argue that the enlargement will strengthen the EU.

Although one of the key objectives of the EU project is to be able to speak with one voice or act as a single coherent actor in the international arena, this has not been possible so far. In this sense, it seems that no common foreign policy has been adopted by all EU member states in terms of each of the various foreign policy areas.

The EU faces many questions of identity; like should it be the market Europe or the political Europe, the continent of geography or the continent of values, the sphere of commerce or the sphere of law.