The 1996–1997 Intergovernmental Conference and a clearer road to monetary union have paved the way for the start of negotiations for accession to the European Union (EU) of up to ten transition economies. A major watershed in efforts to integrate “Europe,” the plans to widen the EU will inevitably conflict with forces for deepening integration. Accession negotiations will be complex, acrimonious, and protracted; their outcome, in terms of the “quality” of accession, are currently unforeseeable.
Focusing especially on economic factors, this timely volume explores the key questions of widening: why the negotiations are likely to be cumbersome and contentious for all concerned, why the evolving relationship between the EU and its eastern neighbors has been less than smooth, and why considerable asymmetries exist among countries and over time in the distribution of the gains and losses for existing and new members alike.
Focusing especially on economic factors, this timely volume explores the key questions of widening: why the negotiations are likely to be cumbersome and contentious for all concerned, why the evolving relationship between the EU and its eastern neighbors has been less than smooth, and why considerable asymmetries exist among countries and over time in the distribution of the gains and losses for existing and new members alike.
