THE EASTERN ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

This paper examines the prospects and problems of Eastern enlargement. It argues that considerations of stability and long run prosperity are the primary reasons why the EU has promised to enlarge eastward and why the Central and Eastern European nations wish to join. While high politics prompted this promise, opposition from EU special interest groups is likely to delay fulfilment of the promise for many years. If this is the case, Europe should create a series of intermediate steps that would permit the reintegration of Europe to proceed apace. If a quick enlargement does occur, EU politics is likely to become much more complicated. The CEECs would have many votes in the Council of Ministers yet they would be very different economically to the average EU incumbent.