Wave of Moves of Eastern Europe Joining the EU
Name: Yi Ligui Student ID：b07014
Research paper supervisor:Dr.Seku Conde
Minzu University of China
2007-2008 Academic Year
With the arrival of May 1, 2004, the European Union formally admits that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus entering the alliance, which realized the historic breakthrough of its member's numbers from 15 countries to 25 countries. The eastward expansion is the fifth time expansion of the European Union, and it is the largest expansion in history, too. This peaceful expansion of the European Union makes Europe push to the front on the international political and economic stage again. The expansion eastward of the European Union has an extensive and far-reaching influence on Europe, China and even the world.
The History of the EU
Predecessor of the European Union is the European Economic Community. The EU is the abbreviation of the European Union. In 1952, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg six countries set up the European Coal and the Steel Community. Six countries set up European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community on January 1, 1958.On April 18, 1965, six countries signed "the Brussels Treaty " , amalgamated three common organizations described above, referred to as the European Economic Community. This community began to operate on July 1, 1967. One Hertz of Special Treaties in Maste went into effect on November 1, 1993, and the European Community began to carry out the transition to the European Union. In 1973, Britain, Denmark and Irish joined the European Community; On January 1, 1981, Greece became the 10th member state of the European Community. On January 1, 1986, Portugal and Spain joined at the same time; the member states of European Community increased to 12. On January 1, 1995, Austria, Sweden and Finland joined; the number of the European Union member’s state has been expanded to 15. Since March of 1998, the European Union and Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus candidate countries began entering alliance negotiation formally. On December 13, 2002, the European Union's summit meeting was held in Copenhagen, and the meeting determined to finish the negotiation with 10 candidate countries and invited 10 countries to enter the alliance in 2004 formally. 15 member states of the European Union, signed alliance's treaty of entering with 10 candidate countries described above in Athens on April 16, 2003. After finishing the legislative examinations and approval procedures of each country separately, 10 candidate countries joined the European Union formally on May 1, 2004. The number of the European Union member’s state has reached to 25. Three major frame principles were made in summit meeting in Copenhagen in 1993: Setting up the steady state machine, protecting human rights, respecting the right of ethnic minority, setting up effectual market economy system, taking the obligation of members, and taking the politics, monetary alliance as the goal. This is also being taken as the standard when the alliance chooses the country to become its members.
The Expansion Process of the EU
The European Union expanding eastward refers to the process bringing the former socialist states that Eastern Europe set up after the World War II into the Europe Union.[1] It includes setting up a European's peaceful reunification through the ages in dream and sleep.”Large Europe “which the European Union has been carrying on is considered as one of the two primary basic tasks. In fact, integration and enlargement has strengthened in the Europe Union all the time since its establishment. After the eighties of the 20th century, with the disintegration Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Warsaw Treaty Organization, the facts which hindered the Europe’s unification such as social political systems and ideology in Europe is already disappeared. Facing the wish of Eastern Europe countries to return to Europe, the European Union made out the plan of expanding toward the east in the 1990s and related it with European dollar, common security and common defense.
The EU’s Motivation to Expand
The expanding eastward of the European Union is mainly based on three following reasons:
First of all, expanding of the European Union is the strategic political choice. There is already development at full speed in the economic force of the European Union at present, and its economic force has already run neck and neck with the America and Japan, becoming an important power in the world. However, the European Union has not formed union in the fields of diplomacy and security etc., so it is difficult to speak in a sound. This is why the European Union is known as “giant of the economies and the dwarf of political and military affairs “for a long time. In order to play an important role in today’s multi-polarity world, the EU has to absorb more qualified countries as the members to increase its political and military affairs strength.
Secondly, the strategy of expanding eastward of the EU is in consideration of economic benefits. On the one hand, the trend of the economic globalization is strengthened day by day, and the EU hopes to have a unified large market in the Europe. On the other hand, the Eastern Europe countries are experiencing the reformation and transition, and its capacity of market is more than 100 million people, the natural resources is abundant, and the workforce has relatively high quality. At that time, the Western European countries were facing the economic recession and financial crisis, and the Western European countries helped to take the more and more countries in Eastern Europe into the EU to enlarge its market.
Thirdly, the choice that the European Union expands strategy eastward is the security consideration. During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other, and the European Union seeks survival in the cracks of the United States and the Soviet Union. The EU has to rely on the United States to protect their security, so it can not do anything freely. Absorbing more and more countries as members in the Eastern Europe, the EU can expand its territory, get rid of the control of the United States and the Russia, and obtain larger living space and autonomy in the multi-polar world.
The Motivation of the Countries in the Eastern Europe
The countries in the Eastern Europe choosing the strategy of entering the EU have the following four reasons:
First of all, the countries in the Eastern Europe experienced the socialism, but they were failed. The failure became one of the reasons causing many countries such as Hungary, Poland, etc. to enter the EU. However, compared with the Western European countries, the reformation effect in the Eastern Europe countries is not obvious, and economic gap between the Western Europe and the Eastern Europe was becoming greater. Experienced the drastic political changing, the countries in the Eastern Europe denied the strategy of reform of the planning system combined with market mechanism in 1989, and they accepted the free market economy system.
Secondly, the choice of the countries in the Eastern Europe entering alliance's strategy is for success of going through transition. The countries in the Eastern Europe hoped to push the reform of political and economic system through the entering the EU. They also hoped to import more capital and enlarge the trade market. Through the competition with foreign companies, it would be helpful for the domestic companies to improve the level of technology and management, reduce the economic gap with the Western Europe countries, and maintain the domestic political stabilization.
Thirdly, entering the EU is helpful for the countries in the Eastern Europe to participate the competition in the international market. Today, globalization and international competition is more and more fierce, and most countries in the Eastern Europe have a greater dependence to the foreign economy. In order to resist the pressure of the international market, strengthen their competitive ability, and improve the ability of participating in global economic integration, the countries in the Eastern Europe regard entering the EU as an important way to develop them.
Finally, it is a strategy choice basing on the consideration of their securities. In the crack between the Western Europe and Russian, countries in Eastern Europe seek a stronger side to depend on guaranteeing their security. After the cold war, the economic and military strength of Russia can not compete with the former Soviet Union; in the Western Europe, however, it is keeping ahead in the economic area and in the security defense affairs. Because of the memory about the former Soviet Union’s behavior, the countries in Eastern Europe chose the Western Europe, and those countries thought the Western Europe is safer and more democratic. Those choice based on not only the thoughts to protect themselves but also the consideration of the social development and political benefits.。
The Problems and Challenges Faced by the EU
The European Union also faces some new problems and challenges during the process of expanding eastward.
First of all, the economic gap between new and old member states is wide. According to statistics, ten new member states only increase by five percentage points for the European Union's domestic production after [...]
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