Integration of new countries in the European Union

Résumé du document

The story of Europe is still being written. The entrance of new countries, ten in 2004, two others in 2007, and the current question of opening Europe to Turkey, shows that the European Union is continuously evolving. From 1947 to 1989, the liberalist doctrine has been adopted by the Western part of Europe, in opposition to the Eastern with its communist ideals. The countries from Western Europe, supported by the United States, started to gather together in institutional organizations, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1948, and above all the beginning of the European Community in 1957 with the Rome Treaty. Started with six countries, the European construction happened step by step. Nine countries in 1973, ten in 1981, twelve in 1986, fifteen in 1995, the Union, which used to include only Western and liberal countries, started to include ex-USSR countries to organization.

Extraits

[...] The first fact is that in a global scale, the enlargement does not have a huge impact on the existing members (including France), but the survey permitted to realise that on this particular agricultural sector, it would cause a lot of changes. First of all, the enlargement will increase French agricultural exportations of only whereas it is calculated to increase its importations up to 3%. France would thus be more dependants on the new entrants. In the same time, countries like Austria and Germany, which would be the more affected by the enlargement due to their common borders with the new countries, will enhance their exportations of 35% and their importations of 25%. [...]

[...] Of course the EU represents 68% of the 2004 entrants' exports, whereas the Ten only represent of the EU's exports, but anyway the barriers between all of them had almost been removed since agreements that happened in the 1990s (except for the agricultural products). The next step for the new entrants is to accede to the Euro-zone, in order, by this monetary harmonisation, to end any kind of barrier between the members. Except Poland, which still has a public deficit that exceeds of the country's GDP, the Ten comply with the Maastricht conditions (public deficit, debt, inflation, stability of exchange rates and should be able to enter in the Euro-zone soon, which will permit a higher homogeneity within Europe. [...]

[...] The consequence will necessarily be the decrease of the CAP budget, thus the decrease of each member's part (Le Monde). For cars and automobiles components for example, French exportations toward the Ten reach billion euros, against 600 millions of exportations. The French trade balance is clearly beneficiary in this sector, but can still be improved thanks to the enlargements, like it was the case when Spain entered the Union; French exportations increased tenfold concerning the automobile sector. France aims to get of the market share there (which is the average of their automobile manufacturers in the Union), against currently (François Loos, French minister of external trade). [...]

[...] At last, it's normal that the enlargements cannot create only positive effect for every one and in every matter, but the base of this project is solidarity: the rich countries have to help the poorer; this is what makes the difference between Europe and some other regional integration models: the European Union is much more than a simple basic free-trade area, it made the political choice to integrate weaker countries (economically speaking), and to base its gathering not only on a financial cooperation, but above all on solidarity and on a cultural assembly of different societies. The simple opportunity to enter the Union led to important changes in candidate countries, and assures the respect of human rights, democracy, and peace within those countries (http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/index_fr.htm). IV. [...]

[...] Started with six countries, the European construction happened step by step. Nine countries in 1973, ten in 1981, twelve in 1986, fifteen in 1995, the Union, which used to include only Western and liberal countries, started to include ex-USSR countries to organisation. It began with the East part of Germany (the German Democratic Republic) in 1990, and it went on, more recently, with the entrance of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta in 2004, and Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. [...]