In terms of the expansion of the geographic area of European integration, the history of the EU is a success story. European integration started with six countries in 1952, half a century later, the European Union comprises 27 member states.
The history of enlargement is, however, characterized by three factors that must be considered to understand the dynamics of the territorial expansion:
- A strong interdependency between the deepening and widening of the integration process. Since the early 1970s the EU member states always considered institutional reforms as a precondition for the acceptance of new member states.
- The importance of geopolitical developments outside the immediate influence of the European Union
- The risks of enlargement for the European Union and the danger of European disintegration.
The seminar will highlight and discuss the several processes of widening of the EU and will analyze what experience past processes provide for EU enlargement in the future.
- Dozent/in: Robert Kaiser