EU Enlargement: Interests, Issues and the Need for Institutional Reform

Abstract

European Union enlargement has long been an issue of concern. Article O of the Maastricht Treaty dealt with enlargement, while the Amsterdam Treaty supports the power of the European Parliament to accept or deny membership. The Europe Agreements have proven central to the application of Central & Eastern European Countries (CEEC), as has the establishment of institutions that facilitate bilateral meetings between individual CEEC countries & the EU. Agenda 2000 (published in July 1997) & the Luxembourg Summit preceded the formal beginning (Mar 1998) of the accession process. During this process, the applications of the five front-runners plus Cyprus entered the negotiation phase. Though a country may meet all the requirements for EU membership, the Copenhagen criteria require that the EU be able to "absorb" the new member. Therefore, while the EU is currently being pressured to enlarge toward Eastern Europe, the enlargement process continues to be constrained by restrictive membership rules. K. A. Larsen