Eastern Enlargement Of The European Union : Efforts And Obstacles On The Way...

The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union is one of the most significant developments in the history of European integration since the end of WWII. This is due not only to the large number of accession countries, but also to the variety of their cultures and structures and the challenges presented by their systems? transformations. The essays offer a variety of perspectives and invite comparisons. The scholars raise key questions regarding the role of institutions, actor constellations, interests and rational choice, the importance of commonalities, identities or perceptions of welfare and the infl uence of basic values and norms. Theoretical approaches employed are interest analysis and bargaining concepts, policy analysis and constructivism. The authors refl ect not only on the challenges and intricacies of the negotiations and the transformation, but also on the national interests and protectionist stances of some of the neighbouring EU member states which appear rather atavistic in the light of the declared EU tenets. Also included is a detailed appendix that contains basic data on each former Eastern Bloc country and the results of the voting of the European Parliament as well as the referenda on EU membership in the accession countries. The prolifi c analyses show the difficulties encountered by the accession countries when trying to match the EU at the negotiation table.