Eu Enlargement 2004 2007
The Economic Impact of the 2004 and 2007 Enlargements on the European Union
Task:
Critically Discuss the Economic and Political Impact of the 2004 and 2007 Enlargements on the European Union"
The following text deals with the most recent enlargements of the European Union which took place in 2004 and 2007, also referred to as the 10+2 Round. In contrast the term EU-15 is used to describe the states which made up the EU before the 2004 and 2007 enlargements. The issue that is being discussed relates to the economic impact of this enlargement round on the European Union. For practical reasons only some aspects of the economic impact on the European Union will be discussed. This seems to be an important issue since the 10+2 round brings countries into the European Union which GDP and thus the standard of living is far below average of the EU-15. The economic structure of most of these countries is considerably different as well. Of course the 10+2 enlargement has significant political impacts as well. However, to keep this essay within certain limits in terms of length these will not be discussed.
The essay is divided into three parts. In the first part an introduction into the topic of enlargement of the European Union will be given. The main part focuses on the economic impact of the most recent enlargement. The issues of economic structure of the acceding member states, their economic performance as well as the enlargement from an economical point of view will be discussed. The last part delivers a conclusion looking at some of the advantages an disadvantages of the enlargement.
The beginning of the European Union dates back to when the Treaty of Rome was signed in the 1950s. At the beginning there were just six countries forming the body of the European Union. France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux: Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Since those days the process of enlargement has constantly been on the Unions agenda.(Nugent 2004, p.
Task:
Critically Discuss the Economic and Political Impact of the 2004 and 2007 Enlargements on the European Union"
The following text deals with the most recent enlargements of the European Union which took place in 2004 and 2007, also referred to as the 10+2 Round. In contrast the term EU-15 is used to describe the states which made up the EU before the 2004 and 2007 enlargements. The issue that is being discussed relates to the economic impact of this enlargement round on the European Union. For practical reasons only some aspects of the economic impact on the European Union will be discussed. This seems to be an important issue since the 10+2 round brings countries into the European Union which GDP and thus the standard of living is far below average of the EU-15. The economic structure of most of these countries is considerably different as well. Of course the 10+2 enlargement has significant political impacts as well. However, to keep this essay within certain limits in terms of length these will not be discussed.
The essay is divided into three parts. In the first part an introduction into the topic of enlargement of the European Union will be given. The main part focuses on the economic impact of the most recent enlargement. The issues of economic structure of the acceding member states, their economic performance as well as the enlargement from an economical point of view will be discussed. The last part delivers a conclusion looking at some of the advantages an disadvantages of the enlargement.
The beginning of the European Union dates back to when the Treaty of Rome was signed in the 1950s. At the beginning there were just six countries forming the body of the European Union. France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux: Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Since those days the process of enlargement has constantly been on the Unions agenda.(Nugent 2004, p.
References: Baltas, N. 2004. The Economy of the European Union. In: N. Nugent, ed. 2004. European Union Enlargement. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, [pp.146-157] European Commission 2006 Friis, L. 2003. EU Enlargement. And Then There Were 28? In: E. Bomberg and A. Stubb, eds. 2003. The European Union: How Does It Work? New York: Oxford University Press, [pp.177-194] Mayhew, A Nugent, N. 2004. The EU and the 10+2 Enlargement Round: Opportunities and Challenges In: N Wallace, H., Wallace W., Pollack, MA. 2005. Policy Making in the European Union.