December 2002

November 2002

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The Copenhagen deal for enlargement
by Heather Grabbe, December 2002

The successful conclusion of accession negotiations at the Copenhagen summit on December 13th 2002 means that ten countries will join the European Union in its biggest-ever enlargement. The EU has never before taken in more than three countries at once. After eastward enlargement, the EU will cover another third of the European continent. It will contain 25 members and nearly half a billion people.

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A half-finished job:
The EU's financial services action plan
by Alasdair Murray, November 2002

At the Lisbon summit in March 2000, EU heads of government signed up to an ambitious programme designed to achieve a viable single market in financial services by 2005. The financial services action plan (FSAP) is an attempt to reduce the legal obstacles which still prevent businesses – whether retail banks, insurance companies or stock exchanges – from selling their wares seamlessly across the EU.

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Justice and home affairs:
Faster decisions, secure rights
by Heather Grabbe, October 2002

Justice and home affairs (JHA) has become the EU's most active policy area, but one of its least known or understood. It now accounts for about 40 per cent of the EU's new legislation. There is strong public support for European countries to work together more closely to deal with common concerns, such as illegal immigration, and common threats, like international terrorism and transnational crime. EU co-operation in tackling cross-border crime has grown remarkably quickly since September 11th 2001.

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EU foreign policy:
From bystander to actor
by Steven Everts, May 2002

Foreign Policy – broadly defined – is becoming increasingly important in the EU. While the EU is often unpopular, more than 70 per cent of EU citizens want the EU to play a bigger role in world affairs. Whether the issue is the crisis in the Middle East, rising US unilateralism or on-going instability in the Balkans, the question that echoes throughout the Union is always the same: what can Europe do?

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Closing the delivery deficit: The future of economic governance in Europe
by Alasdair Murray, May 2002

The EU has set itself a series of highly ambitious economic goals to fulfil in the next decade. Eurozone countries are committed to ensuring the longterm health of the single currency, which will mean further economic integration. The Union will need to incorporate successfully at least ten dynamic but diverse accession country economies. Above all, the EU is determined to meet the target, set in Lisbon in 2000, of becoming the "world's most competitive knowledge-based economy" by 2010.

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Restoring leadership to the
European Council
by Charles Grant, May 2002

Everybody knows the European Commission is in bad need of reform. The problems in the European Council – the regular summits of heads of government – and the Council of Ministers are less widely known but just as serious, and they contribute to Europe's current lack of leadership. In June the EU's Seville summit will discuss modest changes to the working of these institutions.

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The Barcelona European Council
by Edward Bannerman, March 2002

Many Europeans like to think of their continent as a global economic superpower. But when compared to the US over the last decade or so, Europe looks like a laggard. From 1990 to 2000, the EU achieved only one year of economic growth above 3 per cent. In contrast, the US economy experienced just one year in which its economy grew by less than 3 per cent. The gap between GDP per capita in Europe and America is now at its highest level since the early 1960s.

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Preparing the EU for 2004
by Heather Grabbe, January 2002

The debate about the future of Europe is supposed to consider how the Union will function after enlargement. In practice, the agenda set at Laeken addresses longstanding institutional problems, but does not pay sufficient attention to the qualitative changes that enlargement will bring. Before 2004, the EU urgently needs to reform the European Council, the rotating presidency, and the organisation of its foreign policy-making. It should also increase the involvement of national parliaments. The Union should produce a short and clear constitutional document to set out its aims and explain the added value of European integration, for the benefit of its current citizens and those that are soon to join.

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The Nice Treaty: What comes after Nice
by Heather Grabbe, January 2001

Both the outcome at Nice and the methods used to achieve it have left widespread dissatisfaction. Any deal would have been good for enlargement, in allowing the EU to move ahead. But the unseemly spectacle of 15 countries scrambling for position was hardly a shining example of inter-governmentalism at work. And power grabbing by the large states has caused wariness among their smaller counterparts, both current and future members.

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The US presidential election:
Europe must learn to work with Bush
by Steven Everts, December 2000

It is tempting to argue that Bush's exceptionally narrow victory over Al Gore will have little impact on US foreign policy. After all, the two candidates shared a common approach to many international issues. They were both committed internationalists, emphasising the need to sustain 'US leadership' and safeguard 'strategic interests'. Both were committed to freer trade and supported some version of NMD. Both also promised more money for the US military and backed further NATO enlargement.

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