torna alla home page dell'IPEtorna alla home page dell'IPE
torna alla home page dell'IPEtorna alla home page dell'IPEtorna alla home page dell'IPE
 
bulletrete IPE Italia bulletspazio euro bulleteurop@BOteca


useful information
EU documentation
after Nice
fundamental rights
EU enlargement
information policy

youth and europe
newsletter
links
contact us


 write to the Info Point Europeparla via internet con l'IPEitalian versionversion française


 

spacer

the enlargement of the European Union

Along its history the European Union has accepted a larger number of Member States: from six founder members (Italy, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands) to nine in 1973 with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and United Kingdom, ten in 1981 with the accession of Greece, and then twelve Member States in 1986 when Spain and Portugal joined the Community. In 1995 the adhesion of Austria, Finland and Sweden brought the EU to the actual fifteen Member States. This enlargement process hasn't stopped yet and it finds now a new direction towards the Mediterranean area.
The applications for membership of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin's wall, and the analogous determination manifested in the previous years by Malt, Cyprus and Turkey have persuaded the Member States to adopt a prudent and progressive strategy based on the encouragement of the market economies through the technical assistance and the subsidies for the development of the infrastructure in the applicant States. The conclusion of the so called "Europe agreements" has marked the real beginning of integration with the aim of creation of a political dialogue based on the respect of democratic and constitutional States' principles and on the guaranty of the fundamental human rights and the ambition to expand the economic relationship. Nevertheless, it is the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 that marks the decisive change in the perspective of the enlargement. The Summit has individuated three accession criteria: the political engagement for the achievement of institutional stability in order to guarantee the democracy, as well as the respect of fundamental human rights and the protection of minorities (political criteria); the existence of an open and accessible market economy in the European Union (economical criteria); the capacity to respect the own obligations and to approve the political, economical and monetary Union objectives (adoption of the Community acquis criteria).
The Luxembourg European Council (December 1997) marked a further step towards the enlargement accepting the application for membership of ten States, but it decided to proceed in two times: the adhesion negotiations started on march 31st 1998 with a first group of six countries including Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Check Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus. With reference to Cyprus, following a momentary suspension the negotiations have been opened again on December the 3rd in New York but in the perspective of the adhesion it is still necessary a solution to the political and economic division of the Country.
Concerning the second group of six candidate countries - which includes Romania, Slovak Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria - the negotiations started officially on February the 15th 2000. The negotiations are handled separately and, in accordance with the realignment principle, each applicant country is judged on its own merits in stead of following a predetermined calendar.
With regard to Malt, in 1998 the government presented again its candidature, suspended two years before, and it is actually realising politics concerning the equality between women and man, the treatment of refugees and the reform of the administration in the view of the adhesion at the European Union.
Regarding Turkey, the Helsinki European Council (December 1999) accepted its application for candidature at the condition that the Country will remedy the anomalies of its political system, in particular the performance of the public powers, the respect of human and minorities rights. At the present time, advances have been realised with regard to the respect of the political criteria, in particular thanks to the recent modification of the Constitution the consideration of new negotiations of adhesion has been made possible.
Even if it's not possible to foresee exactly how long each negotiation will last, the Laeken European Council in December 2001 fixed the intent to conclude the negotiations within the end of 2002 with the countries considered ready for the accession. It might be Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malt, Poland, Slovak Republic, Check Republic and Slovenia (it have been appreciated the efforts of Bulgaria and Romania, that have been invited to accelerate their processes for economic reforms) that will participate that way, as European Union Member States, at the elections for the European Parliament in 2004.

For further information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/enlargement/index_en.htm