EYP Talk - Your voice on Europe's future. This is the online forum of the European Youth Parliament in the UK.

Enlargement of the European Union

EU enlargement: how much further should the EU grow?

The panellists in this discussion are:

Gary Titley MEP
Leader, European Parliamentary Labour Party

Gary Titley is Leader of the Labour Group in the European Parliament. He has been an MEP since 1989 and represents the North West of England. He has specialised on enlargement issues.

Vladimir Shopov
Political commentator and lecturer in politics, Sofia University

Vladimir Shopov is a political commentator in Sofia, Bulgaria, and also an external lecturer in politics at Sophia University. He has been a counselor at the Bulgarian Mission to the EU and has consulted extensively on European affairs.

Syed Kamall MEP

Syed Kamall has been a Conservative Member of the European Parliament for London since 2005. His main interests are international trade, technology and broadcasting issues.

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The long- term enlargement

Posted by Matija on 13/02/2007 - 19:57

I would like to draw attention to a possibility which has been mentioned several times- the long- term prospect of granting countries like Georgia and other countries in the Caucasus region and Ukraine the possiblitiy of joining the EU.
I myself believe that such projects should be considered carefully because at present there are no firm guidlines of what will project United Europe become, though I think that the prospect of membership or at least close co-operation can undisputably have positive effects.

The future EU

Posted by Sophie Stewart on 06/02/2007 - 15:56

Perhaps in the future we will instead have an EU that is no longer constrained by geographical requirements, but a union that will be open to those countries which fulfil the necessary human rights record requirements, along with a stable economy etc. Already, it is predicted that by 2020 the Balkan states will have been incorporated into the EU, bringing membership to around 33 states.

In order for this to happen though, key member states (France, Germany, the UK...) must overcome what already seems to be a resentment of newcoming nations. The UK, for example, has already placed constraints upon the type of work that the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania can undertake here. As there is evidently inequality already present in the current EU, the point that woolgab raised about a potential 'multi-speed EU' is an interesting scenario, which could be developed from the already existing hierarchy of sorts.

Appendix

Posted by Matija on 06/02/2007 - 08:56

I would just like to correct myself, in my comment I have made a mistake in the Latin motto, it should be In varietate concordia not Varietate in concordia.
I apologize once more.

EU enlargement

Posted by Matija on 05/02/2007 - 20:48

First of all I would like to say hello to everyone and say that this sort of discussion is an excellent idea.
I have found out about the eyptalk over the eyp Croatia, which is where I am from.

I feel that we now live in a very exciting time, historically speaking.
It is my considered opinion that the globalized world of today calls for an active attitude, both individually, nationally and most of all internationally, if one wants to remain a competitive society. Europe's response to this situation is the EU.
But, we now, for the first time in history have a chance to participate in building a thought- through union of nations. I wholeheartedly believe in the "Varietate in concordia" but it is my considered opinion that an enlargement is a great responsibility for all parties in this great venture.
As you may be aware, my country is a candidate country and is currently under reforms hopefully leading to accession. I think that, specifically speaking of Croatia, it is important to learn as much as possible from the previous accessions.
However, neglecting for a while the formal problems, I would like to emphasise another side of the enlargement- the people and their opinions.
For example, the public attitude in Croatia, concerning the EU, is generally ambivalent mainly because of abundant misinformation and myths veling the facts, this especially applies to the young. Taking this into account, I believe that the enlargement is not only a political or/and economical union, but a process more complex and complete than can be seen on the surface and requires multidisciplinary campaings.
The united Europe was created to ensure stabilty in a world overwhelmed by post- war times so I think that Europe should take great care of what it has achieved and today has maybe come a time to answer questions about what Europe is and what its future goals are. That calls for a society prepared to join and prepared to accept.

Multi-Speed Europe

Posted by woolgab on 02/02/2007 - 14:48

I think within this context it is also vital to explore the notion of a 'multi-speed' EU, in which different countries have different levels of membership. Allowing states to choose which aspects of EU policy they adhere to helps to calm existing members fears about enlargement, overcome potential members obstacles to joining and would overcome the EU's constitutional crisis.

EU Enlargement

Posted by Teddy_D on 31/01/2007 - 14:30

In general, EU enlargement is inevitable and has already become part of our lives. However, it might be better that the Copenhagen criteria be extended, just to make sure that accession countries are joining in at the right time. After all, being part of the Single Market has its constraints and all accession countries would have to meet the costs as well as the benefits of trade creation and trade diversion. Moreover, the respective supply-side policies so that the flexibility of the labour market could be improved should be implemented, since the only way through coping with the constrained macroeconomic policies is having a flexible economy.

EU Enlargement

Posted by levitica on 29/01/2007 - 21:05

For the EU to have the most benefit, it should have the most members.

More members mean greater benefits for everyone who is already a member - more trade, more free movement etc.

The possibility of enlargement also means countries make their own improvements. Countries (for example Turkey) improve themselves on issues like human rights and the environment in order to get into the EU, and so it is having a positive effect on the world.

Discussion so far...

Posted by Marcus Pollard ... on 23/01/2007 - 22:22

Many thanks for all the comments thus far. My name is Marcus Pollard, Chairperson of EYPUK and I am the moderator of this discussion on Enlargement.

What it appears from those people who have submitted a comment thus far is that in general you recognise the value of Enlargement to both the EU and to applicant countries. But at the same time you seem to
be concerned by further Enlargment NOW.

It would be interesting to hear from those who have submitted comments and those who are at the moment just observing their views on some points that have not yet been fully explored:

Whilst I agree that

Posted by chris.mackin on 22/01/2007 - 13:23

Whilst I agree that stability is essential within our borders in order for the EU to be perceived as being beneficial to all of our citizens, I would also boldly suggest that is precisely the enlargement of the Union that partly brings about said instability. We have many people in our society that are very easily swayed by, as Mark calls them, 'wonderful piece(s) of journalism.' It is precisely these people who I feel it is most important to make aware of the many benefits immigration brings to our shores. If we fail to 'ram it down their throats', as these tabloids would say, how do we expect to become more believable than 'The Sun,' for example.

Stability Breeds Unity

Posted by markmd on 19/01/2007 - 18:29

One of the major principles of the European Union is to embrace unity through diversity but I personally think we should encourage the aforementioned stability before expanding further. With immigration increasing the more extreme voices in my country (the UK) [and most likely others in the West of Europe] are using immigration problems as a the main tactic in riling the public against the EU. The day before Bulgaria and Romania joined the Union I picked up that wonderful piece of journalism 'The Sun' and saw pictures of Bulgarians with their new passports portrayed as if they were about to reek havoc on the new countries available to them alongside figures of how many immigrants would begin to appear on our shores in the coming months to (I paraphrase) 'take our jobs and our women'. This piece of propaganda made we wince, but it confirms a fact of the new enlarged Union: that some citizens are beginning to look negatively on enlargement.