Enlargement of the European Union

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Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union (EU) through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community (the EU's predecessor) in 1951. Since then, the EU's membership has grown to twenty-seven with the most recent expansion to Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.

Currently, accession negotiations are underway with several states. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. However, this term is also used to refer to the intensification of cooperation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual centralising of power within European institutions.

In order to join the European Union, a state needs to fulfill the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government which respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and also the European Parliament have to agree to any enlargement.

Due to provisions in the latest EU treaty (which govern the EU), the Treaty of Nice, the EU is prevented from expanded beyond twenty-seven members as it is considered that the decision making processes of the EU would not be able to operate with more members. The Treaty of Lisbon would have reformed these processes and removed the twenty-seven state limit, although the ratification of this treaty is in doubt.

Contents 1 Historical enlargements 1.1 Founding members 1.2 First enlargements 1.3 Post-Cold War 1.4 Eastern bloc enlargements 2 Criteria and process 3 Future enlargement 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Historical enlargements

See also: History of the European Union and Statistics relating to enlargement of the European Union

Applications for accession*

Applicant	Issued	Accession/ failure rational
Austria	17 July 1989	1 January 1995
Belgium	N/A	23 July 1952
Bulgaria	14 December 1995	1 January 2007
Cyprus	3 July 1990	1 May 2004
Czech Republic	17 January 1996	1 May 2004
Denmark	10 August 1961	Details      Withdrawn due to veto on UK
	11 May 1967	1 January 1973
Estonia	24 November 1995	1 May 2004
Finland	18 March 1992	1 January 1995
France	N/A	23 July 1952
Greece	12 June 1975	1 January 1981
Hungary	31 March 1994	1 May 2004
Ireland	31 July 1961	Details      Withdrawn due to veto on UK
	11 May 1967	1 January 1973
Italy	N/A	23 July 1952
Latvia	13 September 1995	1 May 2004
Lithuania	8 December 1995	1 May 2004
Luxembourg	N/A	23 July 1952
Malta	3 July 1990	1 May 2004
Morocco	20 July 1987	Details      Rejected by the European Council[1]
Netherlands	N/A	23 July 1952
Norway	30 April 1962	Details      Withdrawn due to veto on UK
	21 July 1967	Details      Rejected by Norway in referendum[2]
	25 November 1992	Details      Rejected by Norway in referendum[3]
Poland	5 April 1994	1 May 2004
Portugal	28 March 1977	1 January 1986
Romania	22 June 1995	1 January 2007
Slovakia	27 June 1995	1 May 2004
Slovenia	10 June 1996	1 May 2004
Spain	28 June 1977	1 January 1986
Sweden	1 July 1991	1 January 1995
Switzerland	25 May 1992	Details      Frozen due to public opinion[4]
United Kingdom	10 August 1961	Details      Vetoed
	10 May 1967	1 January 1973
W. Germany[5]	N/A	23 July 1952
* Applications to the European Coal and Steel Community, European Communities and European Union depending on date.

[edit] Founding members

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was proposed by Robert Schuman in his declaration on 9 May 1950 and involved the pooling the coal and steel industries of France and West Germany. Joining this project were the Benelux countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands who already achieved a degree of integration between themselves. These countries were joined by Italy and they all signed the Treaty of Paris on 23 July 1952. These six countries, dubbed the 'inner six' (as opposed to the 'outer seven' who formed the European Free Trade Association who were suspicious of such plans for integration) went on to sign the Treaties of Rome establishing two further communities, together known as the European Communities when they merged their executives in 1967.

The Community did see some loss of territory due to the decolonialisation occurring in their era; Algeria, which was an integral part of France and hence the Community, gained independence on 5 July 1962 and hence left the Community. There was no enlargement until the 1970s. The United Kingdom, which previously refused to join, changed its policy following the Suez crisis and applied to be a member of the Communities. However, French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Britain's membership fearing its US influence. Due to this, other members of EFTA suspended their applications which had been put forward with Britain's.

[edit] First enlargements

Once de Gaulle had left office, the door to enlargement was once again opened. Together with the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland and Norway applied and were accepted; however the Norwegian government lost a national referendum on membership and hence did not accede with the others on 1 January 1973. Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, joined the Community with the United Kingdom.

The 1970s also saw the restoration of democracy in Greece, Spain and Portugal. Greece joined in 1981 and the two Iberian countries in 1986. 1985 however saw the only time a country had voted to leave the Community, when Greenland was granted home rule by Denmark and the territory used its new powers and voted to withdraw from the Community (See member state territories). Morocco and Turkey applied in 1987, Morocco was turned down as it was not considered European, while Turkey's application was accepted but it would be decades before it would receive candidate status. As of 2008, its membership is still in doubt.

[edit] Post-Cold War

In 1989/1990 the Cold War came to an end, on 3 October 1990 East Germany and West Germany were reunified, hence East Germany became part of the Community in the new reunified Germany (not increasing the number of states). The Community later became the European Union in 1993 by virtue of the Maastricht Treaty. In part due to the end of Cold War tensions, the EFTA states bordering the old eastern bloc applied to join the Community. On 1 January 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden acceded to the EU marking its fourth enlargement. The Norwegian government lost a second national referendum on membership.

The end of the Cold War and westernisation of Eastern Europe led to the EU wanting to establish standards for new entrants so their suitability could be judged. These Copenhagen criteria stated that a country must be a democracy, operate a free market and be willing to adopt the entire body of EU law already agreed upon.

[edit] Eastern bloc enlargements

8 of these countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), plus the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus, joined on 1 May 2004. This was the largest single enlargement in terms of people and landmass, though the smallest in terms of GDP. The less developed nature of these countries were of concern to some of the older member states, who placed temporary restrictions on the travel and rights of work of eastern citizens to their countries. The migration that occurred in any case spawned clichés in some western countries (such as the "Polish plumber"), despite acknowledging their benefit to the economies concerned.

The sixth enlargement^[6] to Romania (see accession of Romania) and Bulgaria (see accession of Bulgaria), who were not ready to join in 2004, took place on 1 January 2007. They, like the 2004 countries, faced some restrictions. The lack of progress in some areas such as the judiciary led to further restrictions, such as EU funds they would normally receive, until they fully complied.

[edit] Criteria and process

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In 1989, the European Community's Phare program was created. It aimed to provide financial support for potential accession countries so that they could expand and reform their economies. To join the EU an applicant country must meet the following Copenhagen criteria established by the European Council in 1993:

• 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 and monetary union.

In December 1995, the Madrid European Council revised the membership criteria to include conditions for member country integration through the appropriate adjustment of its administrative structures: since it is important that European Community legislation be reflected in national legislation, it is critical that the revised national legislation be implemented effectively through appropriate administrative and judicial structures.

In order to assess progress achieved by countries in preparing for accession to the European Union, the European Commission submits 'Regular Reports' to the European Council. These serve as the basis upon which the Council takes decisions on negotiations or their extension to other candidates. Since 1993, the Commission has presented a complete set of Regular Reports on a yearly basis, covering the 10 new member countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) as well as Cyprus, Malta and Turkey.

[edit] Future enlargement

Main article: Future enlargement of the European Union

In the Treaty of Maastricht (Article 49), it is stated that any European country that respects the principles of the European Union may apply to join. The Copenhagen European Council set out the conditions for EU membership in June 1993 in the so-called Copenhagen criteria. Whether a country is European or not is a subject to political assessment by the EU institutions, but countries in the Council of Europe that fall onto the border between Europe and Asia all have a significant claim for EU membership, as shown with the accession of geographically Asian, but culturally European, Cyprus.

As of 2008, a country must first sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SSA) with the EU before applying for membership, which, if successful, will result in the state being awarded the status of an official candidate. Negotiations then take place where it adopts EU norms which, once fully taken on board, will result in accession. The Western Balkan states are currently adopting SSA agreements, with Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia joining Turkey in achieving candidate status. Approximately 30 other countries have been discussed to one degree or another as potential future candidates.

However, under the current Treaty of Nice, the EU cannot have more than 27 members. Unless this is changed (which the Treaty of Lisbon was to do but is currently in abeyance), the European Union is unable to offer membership to any new candidates. With the expected dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, there would be a minor enlargement to the three Caribbean islands which have chosen to integrate with the Netherlands.

[edit] See also

• Future enlargement of the European Union
• Member State of the European Union
• Countries bordering the European Union
• Statistics relating to enlargement of the European Union
• Treaty of Accession 2003
• Treaty of Accession 2005
• Withdrawal from the European Union

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Enlargement – Europa
• European Union Member States and applicant countries – European NAvigator

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