Title: Enlargement Fatigue in the European Union: From Enlargement to Many Unions
Abstract: For a long time, enlargement has been considered one of the EU’s most successful policy instruments. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was created in anticipation of the fifth enlargement round in order to provide an answer for the EU in its relations with its new neighbours. The dual policies of enlargement and ENP were conceptualised as distinct EU strategies. Recent EU documents, discourses and events show that due to a certain enlargement fatigue the originally clear separation between EU enlargement and ENP is become vaguer, to the visible disadvantaging of enlargement. In addition, there is trend towards the creation of different regional cooperation forms for the area surrounding the EU. These represent a new approach towards the two policies and lead to alternative formations in the EU’s neighbourhood or intermediate steps to enlargement. The driving force of these new dynamics is the scepticism affecting the EU’s citizens, mostly as a result of a lack of communication regarding the EU’s policies in this field.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-03-18
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 10
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