18. Enlargement

The process of enlargement has transformed the European Union. It has had far-reaching implications for the shape and definition of Europe, and for the institutional set-up and the major policies of the Union. This has been accomplished through a number of enlargement rounds, which the first section of the chapter analyses in detail. This is followed by a review of the enlargement process itself, with a focus on the use of conditionality and the role of the main actors involved. The contributions of neo-functionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, and social constructivism to explaining the EU’s geographical expansion are evaluated in the third section of the chapter. The success and prospect of future enlargement are discussed in the context of wider EU developments, especially the effect of the economic crisis in the euro area, ‘enlargement fatigue’, the domestic context in the candidate countries, and Brexit.

16. Enlargement

This chapter examines the implications of enlargement for the shape and definition of Europe in general and for the institutional set-up and the major policies of the European Union in particular. It first provides a historical background on EU enlargement before discussing the enlargement process itself, with a focus on the use of conditionality and the role of the main actors involved. It then considers the contributions of neo-functionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, and social constructivism to explaining the EU's geographical expansion. It also evaluates the success and prospect of future enlargement in the context of wider EU developments, especially the effect of the financial crisis in the euro area, ‘enlargement fatigue’, the domestic context in the candidate countries, and evolving relations with Russia.

Euro Area Enlargement: Dilemmas and Prospects

Almost all member states of the new European Union declared their wish to introduce the euro in the near future. The decision of the European Union institutions concerning Lithuania revealed the peculiarities and problems of the euro area enlargement to the Central and Eastern European countries, which are not easy to explain on a purely economic basis while all of them share the same market, and the economic growth restrictions imposed on them are quite disadvantageous. The article discusses a hypothesis that decision on the expansion of the euro zone is determined not only by fulfilment of the Maastricht criteria, but also by a complex of macroeconomic, institutional and political reasons. This article aims to discuss the problem related to the monetary integration in the Central and Eastern Europe. Of no less importance is the progress in implementing measures provided in the governments’ programmes, convergence programmes and national plans of the euro adoption of the countries. Conclusions and proposals are presented on how the Central and Eastern European states must strengthen the monitoring of the monetary integration under different standpoints and interests of the players in the decision-making process regarding the euro area membership.