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Open doors

The European Union has come a long way since the original six member states joined forces to create the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and the European Economic Community in 1957, calling upon the peoples of Europe “who share their ideas to join their efforts.”

The six became nine in 1973, and had grown to 15 by 1995. In the meantime, the European Union (as it is now known) had created a single market and a single currency and had expanded its economic and social agenda to foreign and security policy as well.

The latest enlargement, from 15 to 25, is the biggest in Union history. It has its roots in the collapse of communism, symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which offered an unexpected and unprecedented opportunity to extend European integration into central and eastern Europe. One of the Union’s first post-enlargement priorities is to raise the newcomers’ living standards, which are all below the EU average.

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Benefits for all

The ten newcomers, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, joined formally on 1 May 2004, the culmination of a long process of preparation and negotiation.

The economic impact of enlargement will be significant as a bigger and more integrated market boosts economic growth for new and old members alike. The newcomers stand to benefit from investments from firms based in western Europe and from access to EU funding for their regional and social development. Integration of their economies with the rest of the EU is well under way, as trade agreements, negotiated and applied in advance of membership, have already removed virtually all tariff and quota barriers on their exports to other member states.

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Membership conditions

The Maastricht Treaty which came into force in 1993, says (in Article 49) that any European state which respects the principles of liberty, democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law may apply to join the Union.

Further clarification came from EU government heads at a meeting in Copenhagen in June 1993 which laid down the basic conditions for membership:

• existence of stable institutions guaranteeing democracy;
• rule of law, respect for and protection of human rights and minorities;
• existence of a functioning market economy;
• capacity to cope with market forces and competitive pressures within the 
  Union;
• ability to take on the obligations of membership, including economic and monetary union.

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The road to membership

Long before the first wave of entry negotiations began with the six best prepared countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia) in 1998, the Union was involved with the candidates, helping them to switch to market-based economies and to build the institutional structure of pluralist democracies.

Prior to joining, the new members had to adopt the so-called acquis communautaire which meant applying 80 000 pages of EU law, making their bureaucratic and administrative structures more efficient, strengthening judicial systems and tightening security at their eastern borders. These now become the external borders of the 25-nation Union. Secure external frontiers are a necessary precondition for maintaining open internal frontiers within the EU. The Union is providing considerable assistance, both material and in terms of technical support and advice, to bring border controls in the new member states up to EU standards.

Only Bulgaria and Romania, two candidate countries which belonged to the second wave of negotiations of February 2000 alongside Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia, were unable to accede in 2004 because they were not ready. 

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Smoothing the integration process 

The experience of previous EU enlargements has shown how well the EU integration process works. But major change is often a cause for concern and this enlargement is no exception. Its sheer size has raised questions among citizens in the old and new member states about its impact on their lives and jobs.

There have been fears in the old 15 EU countries about more immigration, an influx of cheap labour and the impact of lower environmental standards. People in the new members have worried about foreign takeovers of local companie ors whether their farmers can stand up to those who have benefited for years from EU subsidies.

Each of these issues was addressed during the entry negotiations although general concerns about the size of the enlargement and its impact persisted among people in the old EU countries and was evident in the negative vote on the draft EU constitution in France and the Netherlands in 2005. However, post-enlargement indications are of a largely trouble-free adjustment process.

The next enlargement

As the EU assimilates its 10 new members, the deadline for the next enlargement is already approaching. Bulgaria and Romania, having completed negotiations, signed their Treaty of accession on 25 April 2005. They should normally join the Union on 1 January 2007. At a summit in December 2005, EU leaders adopted the long-term budget guidelines for the 25-nation Union for the period from 2007 to 2013. These already take account of imminent Bulgarian and Romanian membership.

Meanwhile, entry negotiations with two other candidate countries, Turkey and Croatia, formally began on 3 October 2005. First scheduled for March 2005, the entry talks with Croatia was delayed because the country did not initially cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. Negotiations with Croatia may be concluded within a few years; those with Turkey are expected to take considerably longer.

An application for membership, submitted by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in March 2004, was formally accepted by EU leaders in December 2005, although they set no date for entry negotiations to begin.

The EU is now looking at further enlargements in the Western Balkans which would eventually include Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia & Montenegro and Albania. It believes their vocation is to become members of the EU once they are ready.

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