9. Enlargement and Wider Europe
The EU has expanded many times and many countries still aspire to join. Enlargement illustrates the success of the European model of integration. It has also provided the EU with a powerful tool to influence domestic politics in would-be members. But enlargement also poses fundamental challenges. It...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780198862246.003.0009 https://www.oxfordpoliticstrove.com/display/10.1093/hepl/9780198862246.001.0001/hepl-9780198862246-chapter-9 |
| Summary: | The EU has expanded many times and many countries still aspire to join. Enlargement illustrates the success of the European model of integration. It has also provided the EU with a powerful tool to influence domestic politics in would-be members. But enlargement also poses fundamental challenges. It has implications both for how the EU works (its structure and institutions) and for what it does (its policies). The chapter first compares ‘widening’ and ‘deepening’ before discussing enlargement as a form of soft power. It then explains how the EU has expanded and why countries want to join. It also looks at wider Europe and the EU’s relationship with Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland, as well as prospective members in the Balkan countries. The chapter goes on to consider the EU’s relationship with Turkey and the European Neighbourhood Policy. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential limits of EU expansion and an evaluation of the enlargement process. |
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