Enlargement of the European Union

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The continental territories of the member states of the European Union (European Communities pre-1993), animated in order of accession.

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 1952. 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 under way 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 co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.

To join the European Union, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria (after the Copenhagen summit in June 1993), which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement.

[edit] Historical enlargements

[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. Half of the project states, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, had already achieved a great degree of integration between themselves with the organs of Benelux and earlier bilateral agreements. These five countries were joined by Italy and they all signed the Treaty of Paris on 23 July 1952. These six members, 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 thus 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.

[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, did not join the Community with the United Kingdom at this point, which led to further discussion with Spain about the international status of Gibraltar.

There was French opposition to the inclusion of the United Kingdom into the EU. It was only after de Gaulle left office and a 12-hour talk between British Prime Minister Edward Heath and French President George Pompidou took place did Britain's third application succeed.^[7] After Britain was accepted Prime Minister Edward Heath said:

"For my part, I have no doubt at all that the discussions which we have had will prove of real and lasting benefit, not only to Britain and France, but to Europe as a whole."^[7]

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 wasn't until 1999 that it received candidate status, and 2004 when it officially began membership negotiations. Currently 11 of the 35 chapters have been opened by Turkey (with 1 already closed)^[8]

The Iron Curtain's fall enabled eastward enlargement. (Berlin Wall)

[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.

EU's enlargements in the 2000s:     European Union      Joined the EU in 2004      Joined the EU in 2007

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

Eight Eastern European 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, landmass and number of countries, though not in terms of GDP. The less developed nature of these countries was 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 the generally conceded benefit to the economies concerned.

Following this Romania and Bulgaria, who were deemed unready by the Commission to join in 2004, acceded 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] Overview

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Criteria and process

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Today the accession process follows a series of formal steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission (DG Enlargement), but the actual negotiations are technically conducted between the Union's Member States and the candidate country.

[edit] Conditions

Any European country could in theory apply to join the EU, at which point the Council would consult with the Commission and the European Parliament on beginning accession negotiations. The council would either accept or reject the recommendation unanimously. To receive a positive recommendation, the country must meet the following criteria:^[13]

• It must be a "European State"
• It must respect the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.

To gain membership it 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.

[edit] Process

Before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, so they need many years to prepare for the process. An association agreement helps prepare for this first step.

In the case of the Western Balkans, a special process, the Stabilisation and Association Process exists to deal with the special circumstances there.

When a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the Commission to prepare an opinion on the country's readiness to begin negotiations. The Council can then either accept or reject the Commission's opinion (The Council has only once rejected the Commission's opinion when the latter advised against opening negotiations with Greece^[14]).

If the Council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins. The Commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on "chapters" of law that it feels there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Negotiations are typically a matter of the member state convincing the EU that its laws and administrative capacity are sufficient to execute European law, which can be implemented as seen fit by the member states. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire (European regulations, directives & standards) has to be fully implemented.

A chapter is said to be closed when both sides have agreed it has been implemented sufficiently, however it can still be re-opened if the Commission feels that the candidate has fallen out of compliance.

To assess progress achieved by countries in preparing for accession to the European Union, the European Commission submits regular reports (yearly) to the European Council. These serve as a basis for the Council to make decisions on negotiations or their extension to other candidates.

Once the negotiations are complete a treaty of accession will be signed, which must then be ratified by all of the member states of the Union, as well as the institutions of the Union, and the candidate country. Once this has been completed it will join the Union on the date specified in the treaty.

The entire process, from application for membership to membership has typically taken about a decade, although some countries, notably Sweden, Finland, and Austria have been faster, taking only a few years. The process from application for association agreement through accession has taken far longer, as much as several decades (Turkey for example first applied for association in the 1950s and has yet to conclude accession negotiations).

[edit] Future enlargement

     Current members      Candidate countries      Potential candidates

Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty (as amended) says that any European state that respects the "principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law", may apply to join the Union. The Copenhagen European Council set out the conditions for EU membership in June 1993 in the so-called Copenhagen criteria (see Criteria and process above for details). The Western Balkan states had to sign Stabilisation and Association Agreements before either applying for and gaining candidate status, and all have already done so.

The countries prioritised for membership are those in Southeast Europe, Turkey, and Iceland with three of these — Turkey, Croatia, and Macedonia^[1] — gaining candidate status. In addition, Serbia submitted its formal application for membership on 22 December 2009.

If the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles goes ahead, there would be a minor enlargement (within the Netherlands) from the three Caribbean islands that chose to integrate with the Netherlands. The Netherlands has suggested that the Treaty of Lisbon allow the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba to opt for the status of outermost regions if they wish.^[15]

A referendum on Mayotte becoming an overseas department of France in 2011 was held on 29 March 2009.^[16] The outcome was "yes" (95.2%).^[17] This should lead to Mayotte becoming an outermost region of the European Union.^[18]

[edit] See also

v • d • e Future enlargement of European Union Candidates Croatia (status) · Macedonia (status) · Turkey (status) Applied Albania (status) · Iceland (status) · Montenegro (status) · Serbia (status) Potential (SAA) Bosnia and Herzegovina (status) · Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) (status) Current membership · Historical enlargements · Statistics · Withdrawal

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enlargement of the European Union

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