Stručni rad

Political Aspects of the EU Enlargement

Joško Perica

Sažetak

By including new countries, The European Union has proved that it does not represent a closed exclusive club and that it is ready even to take the risk of accepting into its ranks those countries that are far from majority of the current EU members in terms of their democratic
tradition, character of their recent political systems, and level of development. Some analysts even believe that the whole process is jeopardized and defi nitely slowed down by this enargement. It seems however that the planners in Brussels do not share that opinion and that they have rendered possible the enlargement of the Union on the basis of certain mechanisms not jeopardizing at the same time the realizaton of the great project.
Economically, eastward enlargement may be exactly what the EU needs to return to higher growth. The availability of a large pool of low-cost, higly skilled workers at their doorstep has helped West European companies to better cope with globalisation. And
the new members have gained from expanded cross-border private investment and surging business confi dence.
Politically, however, The EU is still struggling to digest its biggest ever enlargement. On many of the big topics currently on the EU agenda, the new members’ positions differ from those of the big eurozone countries, which also, combined with the problematic
ratifi cation of the new Constitution, and the strain on the current EU institutions, suggests that there is still a lot of work ahead in creating „great“ Europe. Nevertheless, there is no question that the enlargement process will continue to follow its course. The idea of European integration will defi nitely have wider repercussions and it will be attractive to all those countries that are waiting for the inclusion, but also to those that can fi nd an inspiration for their activities in the European integration.

Ključne riječi

European Union; enlargement; institutional changes; effect on Croatia

Hrčak ID:

8562

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/8562

Datum izdavanja:

19.12.2006.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 9.053 *