Costs, Benefits and Chances of Eastern Enlargement for the European Union [antikvár]

Executive SummaryEastern enlargement is going to change the face of the European Union in fundamental ways. For the first time since the beginnings of Western European integration the vision of a United Europe may become true. But instead of making every effort to seize this historical chance, Politicians hesitate and prevaricate.It is becoming increasingly obvious that many Western European governments - though paying lip service to the contrary - do not really want to have an enlarged European Union or, if they do, it should be established in accordance with their rules. The Amsterdam Summit, which once again postponed necessary institutional reforms to beyond the year 2000, has proved to be another impressive case in point. European politics - thus the conclusion to be drawn - cannot at present accomplish more than the tiniest steps towards reform. The struggle for millimetres dominates the political scene. Deep-rooted conflicting and contrasting interests also characterise the enlargement concept of the European Commission, the Agenda 2000. It makes do with half-hearted changes to the existing system, which guarantee that the vested rights of current members remain largely intact.Taken together, the Treaty of Amsterdam and Agenda 2000 reinforce the status quo. They impede a quick, comprehensive and smooth Eastern enlargement of the European Union. Given this inauspicious situation, the enlarged Europe will face great difficulties in manifesting itself. The EU members will approach enlargement and its consequences rather hesitantly. They will interrupt the process repetitively in order to renegotiate vested rights and burdens amongst each other.All those who deem themselves losers of Eastern enlargement try to secure their vested rights with the cost argument. It could be summed up as follows: Eastern enlargement is desirable and useful in political terms. However, for the EU members, their industries and citizens this step will be fraught with an enormous financial burden. If benefits for the present EU members are mentioned at all, they are described in rather vague terms and mainly seen in the area of security policy. This fixation on costs of Eastern enlargement dominates political discussions as well as public opinion in Western Europe. Not only is this view one-sided, though, it is also wrong.There can be no doubt that the prospective EU members from Central and Eastern Europe will be among the net recipients of the Union for the time being. As their economic prosperity will stay below the standard of most European countries for the foreseeable future, even if the most auspicious estimates for economic growth materialise, they will depend on long-term transfer payments from the EU budget. On the other hand Eastern enlargement also holds considerable economic benefits for the European Union: