European enlargement # Ampliación europea

EUROPEAN ENLARGEMENT
The European Union was born as the Europe of the Six. Since 1995, it was the Europe of
the Fifty. And now, the Union has giving green light for a new enlargement, the biggest of
its history. Since may first of 2004, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia are part of the European Family. The Europe
of the twenty five countries.
For over 50 years European nations have been forming and ever closer union, resulting in
the European Union as we know today.
The beginning of a two speed Europe was in Amsterdam treaty in 1997. The treaty
allowed for closer co-operation or flexibility between countries which wanted to forge
ahead on certain issues. But it’s in 1998 when EU takes its first steps eastwards and
opens negotiations with six countries hoping to join the Union. Hungary, Estonia, the
Czech Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus became the first wave of applicants. Applicants
negotiate conditions for accepting the body of European laws, also known as the Acquis
Communaitaire. The negotiations decided in which areas of the law they may be granted
opt-outs, allowing them to phase in reforms more slowly. A year later, another group of
countries gets in the European door when in Helsinki EU decides to open membership
negotiations with Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Malta. Two of these
countries, Romania and Bulgaria are still in the process to join the EU.
We are at the beginning of a new stage of the EU construction. The Union has never been
a closed organization, as we see because it is the fifth enlargement in its history.
However, the new international framework, the amount of new states, and their
socioeconomic situation which is so far from the older members and European standards,
make this enlargement very difficult and extraordinary challenge.
The several problems of these new countries are just a part of the whole challenge
because the EU has to assume important institutional reforms and the current financial
situation of the EU is not very good either.
But, whatever your view, whether you passionately support European integration,
whether you believe it is a disaster about to happen, or whether you find it all hopelessly
dull, this is a real turning point for Europe. Nothing will be quite the same again.
EU has became the biggest single market in the world with more than 500 million
consumers. The continent finally and peacefully be united, more a decade after the fall of
the Berlin wall.
For the candidates themselves, it has been a long time coming. They have had to carry
out reforms in all walks of life in order to adopt a mammoth 80000 pages of EU
legislation-from taxation to transport policy, from company law to consumer protection.
For the former communist states (8 countries), the transformation from heavily centralized
economies to the liberal pro-market system has not been without pain. There is still plenty
to be done, the European Commission has warned that it expects more progress in
judicial reform and against corruption and economic crime.
Supporters of the enlargement say this is a historic opportunity to unite Europe peacefully
after generation of division and conflicts. It has extended the stability and prosperity of
current members to a wider group of countries, making Europe a safer place.
The size of the single market should boost the economy and create jobs, while increasing
the influence of the EU in the world.
The enlargement has already acted as a stimulating for economic and social reforms in
the new members states. These countries have attracted foreign investment, which has
helped their economies to achieve rapid growth rates.
STABILITY ON THE CONTINENT
EU is reuniting the continent, the historic achievement of the EU was to avoid conflict
through the economic and political integration of its members. With the end of the cold
war the artificial division of Europe was ended, but potential conflicts among ethnic and
national groups emerged in central and eastern Europe. But, as a result of the
enlargement many of these problems has been removed. The EU has helped these
countries to consolidate their return to pluralist democracy and market economy. The
result will be a stability and increasing prosperity for the old and new members of the
Union.
ECONOMY, LABOUR MARKET AND FINANCE
The Union gives priority to economic growth and real convergence between the new and
old members states. Over the long term, this will reduce the social and economic gap, and
create growth in the old members because the dynamist of the new ones.
However the Union must revisit the mix of structural assistance with aim of linking funding
more closely to economic growth. Subsidies are unhelpful if used to delay, rather than to
assist adjustment. The Union should also expend on research and development for the
new members. The common agricultural policy should continue to shift support away from
prices and quantities towards a policy of quality, and a dynamic policy of rural
development which assists rather than checks the outflow of employment from agriculture
in the new states.
The enlargement will increase pressure for labor reallocation between industries and
countries, labor mobility will be a important factor.
A recent study of the EU suggested a total of 220.000 migrants per year, spread among
all 15 states. But this number was calculates on the assumption that migrants would enjoy
full freedom of movement, while, in fact, most EU states have planned some form of
restriction at least for the first two years.
The EU has budgeted to spend 40 million euros on the new states each year during the
first three years, but these countries will pay 15 million euros into the budget. The cost of
the enlargement will be over six years at 67 billion euros. Anyway, the cost of the
reunification to the German government was 600 billion euros between 1990 and 1999.
Therefore, the budget mustn’t be a problem for the EU.
QUALITY OF LIFE
The enlargement is helping the EU to provide better standards of safety and security. It
gives more ability to combat crime and illegal immigration by ensuring better cooperation
and control of these problems within the new members. It also raises the environmental
standards for the new members, as in nuclear safety, with benefits for the Europeans as a
whole. The new members will have a better rules for food safety.
EUROPE IN THE WORLD
Despite the EU’s economy weight, it’s political influence in world affairs is still weak. The
enlargement is an opportunity to complement its economic strength with political power.
But to achieve this goal it needs to develop a common foreign and security policy. The
enlargement is, in fact, the most successful act of foreign policy.
The Union must urgently rebuild a common foreign policy, with an intention of speaking
with a single voice.
ACTING TOGETHER IN EUROPE
It is the first time in the history of the Union that so many new members are accepted at
the same time. Although the enlargement only means an increase of only a fifth of the
EU’s population. There will be ten new countries represented in the institutions.
The Union of the 90’s is very different from the Union of 2004 because the national
sovereignty is being shared in fields such as justice and home affairs, and cooperation
has begun on security and defense. The Union is on the way to be a political union.
For Europeans to take decisions on common policies implies a common understanding of
the European interest an a interest to cooperate together and act together, touching
questions about identity and interest at the European level and at national level.
About the identity question, the enlargement has come in a period when mobility and
migration have increased the diversity in Europe, including immigrants from outside
Europe, the attitude of the society to strangers and others, assimilation, integration and
exclusion is posed in Europe independently of the enlargement. Looking at the past
experiences of the process, the national and regional identities have not been diminished,
while in some states, regional identities have emerged more clearly facilitated by the
wider European framework.
The new members want to be treated as equals with the same rights as others members,
it is not justified the fear of losing their own national sovereignty and the relations with the
old members will be governed by laws and not by force as was too often in the past.
The European method for integration allows the harmonious cooperation of small and big
countries. This method provides a model which assures smaller countries that their
interests will not be overridden by the bigger ones. There is a balanced representation
within the institutions and between the institutions.
The diversity has been accepted as one of the principles of European integration. There
has never been a project to develop a unique European culture. Besides that, European
integration has been accompanied by an increasing emphasis on shares principles and
values.
The new countries will bring with them many differences but these tend to be distorted in
western Europe by the experience of the post war period because the artificial barrier
between east and west. But the reality is that visiting the cities of the central and east
countries you see more similarities than differences. These countries shared since middle
ages cultural influences with continental Europe and they have been part of different
administrative and political groups. The iron curtain was just a temporary aberration. The
new members have a rich culture that is understood and appreciated by the old member
states.
They have a wide economic gap with the older members and it could be a handicap to
their full participation in some policies but they have the political will instead of the
economic means. Their average GDP per capita is 40% of the average level in the 15 EU
states. Some, however, are richer than others. Cyprus and Slovenia are at the top of the
scale, with 70% or more of average EU wealth members, while Latvia is closer to 35%.
Summing up, the integration requires an effort to understand each other, to follow
common interests and to combat the fear that a bigger EU could mean a loos of identity.
The enlargement gives the need and the opportunity to upgrade the European union
system of governance. The Union needs to develop the clear and comprehensible
constitution as soon as possible, respecting for the institutional balance and including the
extension of the majority voting. To promote understanding between citizens, exchanges
of people, work experience and study by young people in other countries to better know
each other and to promote a feeling of union for the future generations of Europeans.
Bibliography
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Wim Kok . Enlarging the European Union. European University Institute. Belgium,
march 2003.
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Acquis communitaire
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Nice treaty
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www.iue.it. Historical archives of the European Union.

www.europa.eu. Official web site of the European Union
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www.bbc.com
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www.elmundo.com