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Ukraine's
European choice
by Kataryna Wolczuk, October 2004
During the 1990s, the EU was busy completing its single
market, introducing the euro and helping the Central
and East European applicants get ready for accession.
It paid little attention to the countries beyond its
new eastern borders, such as Ukraine, Belarus and
Moldova. Most EU policymakers saw the former members
of the Soviet Union – with the notable exception
of the Baltic states – as a fairly homogenous
lot.
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Over
but far from finished -
The EU's financial services action plan
by Alasdair Murray, September 2004
The EU has now all but completed the legislative phase
of its financial services action plan (FSAP). The
action plan is an attempt to reduce the legal obstacles
which prevent businesses – whether banks, insurance
companies or stock exchanges – from selling their
services seamlessly across the EU.
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The
CER guide to the EU's constitutional treaty
CER, July 2004
At the second attempt, EU leaders clinched a deal
on the new constitutional treaty at the Brussels summit
on June 18th 2004. However, it is far from certain
that the constitutional treaty will ever enter into
force. It will not become law unless parliaments in
all 25 member-states ratify the document. Moreover,
at least nine countries are set to hold referendums.
The chances of one country voting No in a referendum,
and thus scuppering the treaty, are considerable.
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Europe's
new defence agency
by Daniel Keohane, June 2004
In contrast to economic policy, the EU has made only
stuttering progress towards greater co-ordination
of defence policies. This is because governments have
traditionally been unwilling to cede sovereignty over
their defence policies to a supranational organisation
like the EU. But the Balkan wars of the 1990s showed
how weak European governments were when they tried
to act alone.
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How
the EU should help its neighbours
by Heather Grabbe, June 2004
The EU has had huge success in using its enlargement
process to help ten Central and East European countries
along the path to becoming stable democracies and
successful market economies. Can it do the same for
its neighbours, such as Ukraine and Algeria? The outlook
is much bleaker for the countries on the EU's eastern
and southern borders.
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