Original scientific paper
Advantages and disadvantages of immediate or postponed membership into the EU
Marjan Svetličič
; Centre of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Boštjan Udovič
; Centre of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
The present article explores the options of future EU member states regarding their accession to the EU. It weighs the benefits of inclusion at the earliest possible convenience on the one side, and their later accession, on the other side. The analysis is conducted in three areas of importance for the timing of EU membership, namely the area of political stability and security, the area of economic development and competitiveness, and the area of maintenance of national sovereignty and cultural identity. The results indicate that benefits of early accession outweigh weaknesses and it is thus imperative for the candidate countries to accede to the EU as soon as possible. This is even more important at these times of financial crisis, since the EU does provide a greater financial and economic stability to its members as opposed to the potential stability they would have were they to remain outside the EU integration.
Keywords
European integration; advantages/disadvantages of the membership; Political and security stability; Welfare creation; Cultural and identity problems
Hrčak ID:
58757
URI
Publication date:
1.1.2010.
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