ASSESSING ACCESSION

 

 

Venue: University of Durham

Date: 23rd January 2009

 

The recent waves of enlargement towards ten Central and Eastern European and two South-Eastern European countries have fundamentally altered the size and the nature of the European Union. The Single Market of 27 member states now represents the largest and most densely populated integrated economic area in the world and the EU has become one of the major international organisations with increasing levels of policy coordination amongst its member states. Further waves of enlargement towards the Balkan countries, Turkey and former Soviet Union states like the Ukraine would substantially increase the political and socio-economic diversity of the EU. The case of Turkey illustrates the lack of consensus amongst the present member states on the issue of further enlargement.

Existing studies of the EU continue to be largely focused on the national preferences and the power balance amongst the EU-15 countries with the new member states in Central and Eastern Europe being mainly considered under the aspect of integration into the existing EU acquis.

The proposed conference will adopt a different perspective and concentrate on a more comprehensive analysis of the changing power balance within the EU-27. The CEE countries are hence considered as potential policy-makers, a role which they are gradually adopting. The conference will consequently examine in which way the new member states are influencing the EU policy agenda and how the EU-15 member states respond to this process.

Limited funding is available. For further information, please contact: Dr. Christian Schweiger