International studies, Vol. IV No. 2, 2004.
Original scientific paper
EU Enlargement - Scope and Questions
Radovan Vukadinović
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
By inclusion of new countries, the European Union bas proved that it does not represent a closed exclusive club and that it is ready even to take a risk by 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 by this enlargement the whole process is jeopardized and definitely slowed down. However, it seems 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 realization of the great project.
There is no question that the enlargement process will continue to fol low its course, that there will be those who will strongly argue in favour of it and that the entry of the ten new members does not represent the end of the enlargement. The idea of European integration will definitely have wider repercussions and it will be attractive to all those countries that wait for the inclusion, but also to those that can find in the European integration an inspiration for their activities.
Keywords
EU; enlargement; euroatlanticism; Western Balkans
Hrčak ID:
287087
URI
Publication date:
15.7.2004.
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