11. Expansion of the European Union – Flashcards
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What did many European countries look for after WII?
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Ways to replace the old nationalist divisions with a more united Europe.
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What was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)?
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Aimed to centralise control of national coal and steel industries. Members were Benelux, France, Italy and West Germany.
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What did the Treaties of Rome create in 1957?
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A European body with broader powers - European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
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What happened to the EEC, the ECSC and Euratom in 1967?
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They were brought under a single organisation, the European Community (EC), which underwent a period of steady enlargement as more and more countries bought into the advantages of membership.
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What did the Masstricht Treaty of 1991 do?
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Negotiated between the EC member states and in 1993 created the European Union (EU).
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Who were the original members of the EEC in 1957?
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Benelux, France, Italy and West Germany. However expansion followed and by May 2004, the total number of member states was 25.
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Which states were admitted to EEC (later EU) in 1973?
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Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom.
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Which state was admitted to EEC (later EU) in 1981?
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Greece
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Which states were admitted to EEC (later EU) in 1986?
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Portugal and Spain
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Which states were admitted to EU in 1995?
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Sweden, Finland and Austria.
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Which states were admitted to EU in 2004?
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Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Slovenia.
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How many member states were there in the EU in May 2004?
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25
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What did the gradual pre-accession strategy established involve?
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Technical and financial aid for the former communist states.
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What did the European Agreements of 1992 create?
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Free trade agreements on industrial goods but excluding agricultural goods - aimed at contributing to stability and economic growth among states wanting to enter EU.
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What did the Copenhagen Summit of 1993 do?
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Formally ratifies the European Agreements as first step towards full membership of EU.
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What did the EU define as criteria for entry?
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The creation of democratic institutions, a commitment to protect human rights, a market economy, recognition of their minorities and their protection, and the ability to adopt economic and monetary union.
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Which countries received a guarantee of eventual membership of the EU?
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In 1993 six countries :Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Four others, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia, eventually received the same assurances.
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How was expanding membership of the EU seen as?
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The most effective way to bring to an end the divisions within Europe as a whole and manage the transition of central and eastern European states from what were one-party dictatorships with centrally planned and state-controlled economies to democracies with free market status.
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What were seen as the potential gains from enlargement for the member states, and for potential new members?
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The EU's internal market would be enlarged, Economic growth would be stimulated throughout the Union, States from central and eastern Europe would become integrated into western European political and economic systems and this would inevitably strengthen security and stability for the Union as a whole, and it would improve environmental standards in central and eastern Europe as new members were required to conform to EU standards.
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What were costs of Enlargement of EU membership?
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The addition of further members increased EU market competition and the need to redistribute resources across the EU. The richer member states were faced with a potentially high financial contribution to the EU budget.
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What other issues did the EU face?
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The increasing diversity of ethnic and cultural contributions being made to the EU. There was a growing fear that the EU would become the victim of an East—West divide. There was the clear issue of European identity and the development of a common sense of purpose.
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What was Agenda 2000?
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The official title of an EU action programme which focused on three inter-related issues: budgets, policies and enlargements.
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What did Agenda 2000 recognise?
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The significant price gaps that existed in agricultural produce between the current EU members and the applicants. It was accepted that restructuring and modernisation was necessary to prepare for entry.
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What did Agenda 2000 reaffirm?
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That it was essential that applicant states were ready and able to conform to EU standards in order to prevent divisions within the EU.
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What did Agenda 2000 require the states to do?
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Comply with the existing EU Common Transport Policy, address the issues of water and air pollution, and bring their levels of nuclear safety up to international standards. It was anticipated that modernisation programmes would be fully implemented over a period of seven to ten years.
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What was Agenda 2000 essentially about?
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Preparing an applicant for membership and ensuring that the existing members were not disadvantaged by the change. It underlined the aim of making the EU stronger rather than an enlargement undermining EU strength and unity.
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What was the result of the recommendation was to open negotiations immediately with five countries of central and eastern Europe regarding Agenda 2000?
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Created a two-tier entry and the five who were not in the first wave of enlargement were largely dissatisfied with the outcome. The 'successful' five included Poland, Hungary Estonia and Slovenia. The five whose entry into negotiations was delayed were Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
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How did the EU members receive Enlargement?
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The reaction was positive. One factor influencing the reaction came through the geograp location of applicant states in relation to existing members. Most states were interested in their immediate neighbours.
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When was the recommendation of the Commission in Agenda 2000 accepted?
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It was accepted by the European Council in December 1997.The Council accepted the need to offer preaccession aid in order to enable applicant states to be at the height of readiness to enter the EU.
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What issue should be considered when examining the role of the EU in terms of international relations?
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Whether an organisation with so many members can function collectively and maintain a consensus of policy.
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When do attempts to establish a common foreign policy date back to?
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The 1970s when membership of the EEC totalled nine. The policy was known as European Political Cooperation (ECP) but its range was very limited and by the 1990s it was clear that a united and coordinated foreign policy shared by the member states was not working.
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What did the Maastricht Treaty do?
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Established some basic provisions for foreign and security policy among EU members: There was to be a common foreign and security policy. There would be an agreed common policy rather than simply attempts to coordinate individual national policies as had been the case up to 1992.
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What was to be the role of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)?
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Defence as well as security. At Maastricht it was agreed that the CFSP included 'all questions related to security of the Union, including the eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence policy.' Included the the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
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What did the Amsterdam Treaty do in 1997?
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Moved the EU closer to a definite policy formulation structure when it referred to 'the progressive framing of a common defence policy.'
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How did the EU want Russia and why?
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Stable and prosperous, they were perceived as an essential partner in political and security issues affecting the EU.
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What did the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PAC) of 1994 do?
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It focused on providing a framework for cooperation in such diverse areas as foreign and security policy, transport, energy policy, and financial and technical aid issues. It wasn't implemented until the end of 1997 because of Russian military action in Chechnya.
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What was the relationship between the EU and the US?
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USA was a consistently strong supporter of EU enlargement and this process served to reinforce the USA's links with the EU. Should the security situation in central and eastern Europe become fragile, it is the USA who would offer the most effective military protection.
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How did EU states view the influence of the US on the EU?
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France, Germany and Belgium were particularly critical of the USA's decision to embark on a war with Iraq in 2003. The newly arriving central and eastern European states were clearly pro-USA and thereby expanded the Atlanticist arm of the EU membership.
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What did the end of the Cold War bring to NATO?
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A re-evaluation of NATO's role and the relationship that one of the founding fathers of NATO — the USA — would have with Europe.
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What did NATO announce in May 1990?
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That it no longer regarded the Warsaw Pact states as a threat to the security of Europe.
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How did Britain and France regard NATO?
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As the foundation of European security while the French were backing a separate defence strategy for the EU members which was not dominated by the USA. The USA was the clear leader of NATO but there was no united European leadership of an EU defence force.
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How did NATO enlargement move?
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Faster that EU enlargement. European states accepted that such enlargement provided greater security and regional stability. NATO represented the means by which disputes could be resolved and not degenerate.
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What did the 1990s show regarding NATO?
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That NATO it was still the heart of European security and that the USA's role within NATO was still vital.
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What objections were there to the expanded NATO regarding Russia?
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Enlargement would reduce the security of Europe because it would strengthen nationalism within Russia and reduce their willingness to cooperate over arms reduction agreements. There was also the belief that Russia would move towards closer ties with China in order to offset what it saw as growing links between Europe and the USA. However there was no evidence to suggest that development of Russian foreign policy was affected by the NATO enlargement since July 1997.
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What concerns were there over NATO membership growing?
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That the geographic area that NATO would be responsible for defending would subsequently increase, bringing an increase in national interests which could be in conflict with each other. In effect enlargement would compromise NATO's unity and therefore its effectiveness. However NATO's enlargement with candidates for membership of an expanding EU was a positive step, rather than a negative or irrelevant one. Membership of NATO increased stability with these states and improved civil-military relations.
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What concerns were there over US involvement regarding NATO expansion?
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That it would deter the USA from retaining its commitment to Europe, or it would increasingly become a tool to manage American interests.
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What did the fact that Russia was granted a special consultative role in NATO represent?
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Another major move towards the perception of NATO as an organisation that had become focused on collective security.
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What economic issue was there regarding NATO expansion?
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how to ensure that the weaker new members were able to develop economically in order to move towards equal economic status within the EU.
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What raisedthe issue of integrating the new members into the EU trade policy?
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New members already had established trading partners. Despite this, as with previous enlargements, the EU shifted its trade relations with its new neighbours.
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What was the reality of the EU shifting its trade relations with its new neighbours?
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The economies of the new member states would have been undermined if they had been forced to divert their trading away from their traditional trade partners immediately.
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How was the redirection of trade by the EU seen?
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As an essential part of enlargement in order to prevent the EU becoming protectionist and damaging the economies of other non-EU neighbours.
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What did membership of the EU mean regarding trade policies?
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That trade policies adopted by the prospective members had to be in line with current EU trade policy. It was clear that this requirement was not always easy to enforce. The EU's attempts to carry through this requirement did have some impact on world trade. E.G) when Poland set up a bilateral trading agreement with the USA in 2001 without any prior consultation with the EU.
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What was the economic impact of the enlargement of the EU focused on?
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The transition from socialism to capitalism with which new member states have been faced. This necessitated a financial transformation
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What economic impact did the enlarged EU have on international relations?
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Significantly, previous enlargements Pre-1991 did not result in the EU becoming more protectionist and more committed to trading within its own expanding membership. Post-1991 enlargements show no indication that this non-protectionist outcome has changed. The enlarged EU remained committed to trade liberalisation. In effect it was minimal.
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What was the Outcome of Enlargement?
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An enlarged EU created greater unity and stability despite the potential problems it inevitably generated.
