European Union enlargement: Narrative I Professor

Transcript:European Union enlargement: Narrative I Professor:
European Union enlargement: Narrative I Professor Paul Bacon Jean Monnet Chair of European Union Studies Waseda University 1 EU enlargement: Three narratives In the two topic lectures on EU enlargement, I want to suggest that there have been, broadly, speaking, three main narratives about EU enlargement. In the first of these two topic lectures, I will focus on the first narrative. This first narrative tends to present EU enlargement in a somewhat positive light. This narrative closely follows the arguments in Sedelmeier and Avery, ‘EU Expansion and Wider Europe’, in Kenealy, Peterson, and Corbett, eds., 2018. The European Union: how does it work?. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Narratives two and three are covered in the second of the two topic lectures on enlargement. 2 The Transformative Power of Europe? The EU has a very strong self-image. The EU is founded on the normative (moral) principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. The EU requires potential members, and encourages its partners, to respect and uphold these principles. Particularly with regard to EU enlargement, people have talked about the transformative power of the EU. Most analysts agree that the EU has successfully demonstrated this powers in its near abroad to a substantial degree. 3 Conditionality According to Karen Smith, to an impressive extent, the EU’s enlargement policy has been its most successful foreign policy. Through conditionality, the EU has transformed the domestic political, economic and social systems of European states who want to join the EU. For this topic lecture I will talk in some detail about the EU’s enlargement policy. To see the EU’s official homepage on EU enlargement, please click here: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/policy/steps-towards-joining_en You can find all the very latest information on EU enlargement on this site, including progress towards membership for current candidate states. 4 Treaty Provisions on EU Enlargement The Treaty on European Union, as amended by the Lisbon Treaty, states: Article 2: The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Article 49: Any European state which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. 5 The 3 (4!) Copenhagen Criteria The European Council at Copenhagen (1993) stated in its conclusions: