The reasons of EU's eastward expansion

1952 Shortly after the end of World War II, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg established the European coal-steel isomorphism. 1958 established the European economic isomorphism and the European atomic energy isomorphism. 1On April 8, 965, the six countries signed the Brussels Treaty, and the three isomorphic institutions were merged into one, collectively known as the European isomorphic body.

Since then, European isomorphism has experienced five expansions:

1973, joined by Britain, Denmark and Ireland;

198 1 year 1 month 1 day, Greece became the 10 member of the European Union;

1 986 65438+1October1,Portugal and Spain joined, and the number of EU members increased to12;

1995 65438+February 1 1, Austria, Sweden and Finland joined, expanding the EU formed by the Maastricht EU Treaty, which came into effect in June 1993 1, to 65438.

On June 5438+02,65438+03, 2002, the EU Summit held in Copenhagen decided to end the negotiations with 65438+00 candidate countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus, and formally invited them to join the EU in May 2004.

The scale and significance of the fifth eastward expansion are far greater than the previous four. It will increase the territory of the EU from 3.26 million to 4.5 million square kilometers by 37.8%, the population from 378 million to 453 million by 65.438+09.8%, the total GDP from 780.8.1billion to 837.73 billion dollars by 7.3%, and the total trade volume from 399.73 billion dollars.

I. The process of EU's eastward expansion

The development of relations between the EU and Central and Eastern European countries can be divided into three stages:

The initial stage is 1,1989-1993, which is characterized by economic relations. Mitterrand and former Soviet President Gorbachev were the first to talk about the eastward expansion of the European Union. 1989, they talked at a meeting that Europe is everyone's "* * * home". However, it was not until 1994- 1996 that Eastern European countries, which had experienced political changes and turbulence, submitted their applications to join the EU. At this stage, the EU has launched the Phare program to provide financial assistance to Central and Eastern European countries, with an annual allocation equivalent to 3.3 billion euros, which is mainly used to support projects to improve the institutional capacity of Central and Eastern European countries.

2.1993-1997 is the stage of establishing access standards and development strategies. At this stage, the EU signed an agreement with Central and Eastern European countries wishing to join the EU, and then the latter applied for membership. 1997 65438 In February, the Council of the European Union held a meeting in Luxembourg, determined the agenda for eastward expansion, and agreed to start accession negotiations with Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Cyprus (collectively known as the Luxembourg Group) on March 3 1 and 1998. At the same time, the EU has established partnerships with 65,438+00 Central and Eastern European countries and signed multi-year cooperation plans. At the same time, the EU coordinates its programs to support candidates from Central and Eastern Europe, such as Phare Program, Szabad Program (a supporting tool for agricultural reform), ISPA Program (a supporting tool for environmental and traffic improvement) and related education, training and research projects.

3. From 65438 to 0998, it is the stage of negotiation and preparation for accession. 1998 On March 3 1, the EU started negotiations with six candidates from Luxembourg. This event marks the beginning of the third stage of EU's eastward expansion. 1In March 1999, the heads of EU member states reached an agreement in Berlin on the financial budget for the implementation of the eastward expansion plan from 2000 to 2006. In June 5438+February of the same year, the Council of the European Union held a meeting in Helsinki, and decided to start accession negotiations with other six countries (including Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Malta, collectively referred to as Helsinki Group), and reconfirmed Turkey's candidacy for membership. The overall attitude towards these countries is to solve them in a package and treat them differently. Negotiations with other countries were conducted separately and divided into 3 1 issues, one of which was settled and the other was settled. Naturally, the most difficult problem to solve is the agricultural and regional policies involving the allocation of resources by all parties. In June, 20001,at the EU Summit held in Gothenburg, Sweden, it was first proposed to end the accession negotiations at the end of 2002. At the summits held in February 2006, February 65438 and June 2002 in Cibila, a city in southern Spain, the timetable for 65438 candidate countries to join the EU was determined. On June 9th, 2002, Council of Europe formally put forward a proposal to end the negotiations with 10 candidate. The EU Summit held in Copenhagen on June 5-3, 2002 announced the conclusion of the negotiations. These 10 countries will formally join the EU on May 1 2004, and the accession time of Bulgaria and Romania will be postponed to 2007.

Second, the reasons and objectives of the EU's eastward expansion

"Enlargement" is an important part of the EU treaty concept. 1957 When signing the Treaty of Rome, it mentioned the possibility that "any European country willing to join the EU can become a member of the EU".

"eastward expansion" is not only the need of European complex, but also has its political reasons, that is, to achieve European unity ("the same family") This expansion is unprecedented in terms of the number of countries, the size of population and territory, and cultural diversity. It will become a landmark event and a platform for sharing principles and values. In order to achieve this goal, we can't treat "eastward expansion" with a pragmatic attitude, and we must follow strict standards in the process of implementing eastward expansion. These are the three basic criteria formulated in Copenhagen: stability, security and economic growth.

Setting clear standards from the beginning has both advantages and risks. Because it is not easy to meet these basic standards, and it is still difficult to say which is more costly or more profitable. At present, the public opinion of EU 15 countries and 13 candidate countries is optimistic about this answer: an online survey by the European Parliament shows that 7 1% of the respondents in EU member countries think that the advantages of eastward expansion outweigh the disadvantages, while the proportion of candidate countries is as high as 93%. Of course, the eastward expansion is not cost-free, but as long as it is carefully managed, the cost may be transformed into opportunities.

In order to achieve the success of eastward expansion, the EU must do well in the following three aspects:

First, reform the existing basic policies, especially agricultural policies, structural policies and immigration policies. The reform of the first two policies is very difficult.

Regarding agricultural policy reform, the EU and candidate countries reached an agreement and decided to implement a "ladder system". In other words, farmers in the new member countries can get subsidies of 40.83 billion euros from 2004 to 2006, and gradually increase their support in the following years, reaching 65,438+000% of the subsidies in the old member countries by 2065,438+03. Of course, this will inevitably lead to a comprehensive reform of the agricultural policy, which accounts for 50% of the EU's expenditure.

The reform of structural funds will also take a gradual approach, that is, according to the ability of new member States to provide matching funds when using structural funds, the way of "gradually integrating into the system" will be adopted. Obviously, this is a temporary transitional system, which will be implemented in 2007. Some member countries (such as Spain) are worried that their structural financial support will be reduced after the eastward expansion. However, we should not give up the EU's eastward expansion. In order to make the new member States achieve the development consistent with the EU, it is necessary to adopt a solidarity policy towards them. The experience of Spain, Portugal and Greece joining the * * * body also proves this point: in 1988, the per capita income of these countries was only 68% of the average level of the European * * body, but in 1999, this proportion has risen to 79%.

Some people, especially Germans and Austrians, are worried about the danger of a large influx of immigrants after the eastward expansion. From the experience of Spain and Portugal's accession to the EU, it can create new employment opportunities in new member countries. However, in order to be prudent, the EU will adopt a seven-year transition period for the new member countries that joined the EU in 2004. During the transition period, existing member States can take measures to limit the labor inflow of new member States. After the eastward expansion, how to control the influx of immigrants from outside the EU remains a problem. At the same time, whether the new member States have the ability to cope with the influx of foreign immigrants is also an issue that cannot be ignored. On these two issues, the EU will also be prepared to take two steps: the first step is to immediately implement the Jay Agreement and the Schengen Agreement among the 10 Central and Eastern European countries that will join the EU in 2004; The second step is to strengthen the border control and inspection of the above-mentioned 10 countries after they join the EU. To this end, we should help them establish systems and improve their management capabilities.

Second, reform the existing EU institutions. At present, there are 15 member States in the European Union, which often leads to the phenomenon of discussing without deciding. This situation will be even more serious when the number of EU member states reaches 27 in the future. Whether there will be a "democratic deficit" (that is, the elected institutions lose their decision-making ability) is of concern. In order to answer this question, the EU's institutional reform has been under consideration since the Nice meeting at the end of 2000. This has been listed as the work of the Constitutional Council. It can be expected that this reform will not only strengthen the functions of EU institutions, improve their decision-making procedures, coordinate and divide the terms of reference between EU institutions and member institutions and local institutions, but more importantly, further strengthen the European Union through strengthening cooperation.

Third, seize every opportunity after the eastward expansion to solve problems that could not be solved before the reunification of East and West Europe, such as organized crime, illegal immigration, environmental pollution, threats to peace and so on. The EU's eastward expansion is not only related to its own peace, security and the expansion of sustainable development space, but also to world peace.

Third, the concept of "Europe"

With the eastward expansion of the European Union and the construction of Europe, people have thought of a question: Where is the border of Europe?

According to the Atlas of the World published by China Map Publishing House 1995, Cyprus and Turkey belong to Asia. Now, "Europe" should not be a simple geographical concept, but a collection concept of political, social, cultural and economic values. In other words, it is not only the "unity" of geography, but also the "unity" of politics, history and thought. It is better to understand "Europe" as a space, not a territory.

Here, it is inevitable to talk about Turkey's accession to the EU. No one opposes Turkey's accession to the EU, and Turkey cannot join the EU for ideological or religious reasons. At present, the EU only asks Turkey to fully respect European values. The so-called "* * * with the same value", the most important content is: a country ruled by law, an open economy, and the unity of diversity. The EU considers this to be its most valuable asset. There are still some specific problems, such as the establishment of a country ruled by law, the relationship between * * * and national defense, and the Turkish Cypriot issue, which need further study and solution. EU encourages Turkey to continue to deepen reform. If it receives Council of Europe's report and recommendation letter that Turkey meets the political standards put forward by Copenhagen, it will consider negotiating accession with Turkey at the EU summit in February 2004.

Fourth, the relationship between the EU and China after the eastward expansion.

After the eastward expansion, the EU will strengthen its relations with new and old neighbors, especially with Balkan countries, Mediterranean countries and Russia. This does not mean that the EU will change its basic policy towards other regions, including China. On the relationship between EU and China, it should be said that the influence of China's entry into WTO is far greater than the EU's eastward expansion. The EU will not engage in protectionism. The growth of China's exports to Europe in recent two years is a witness. Now, the governments of EU member states are encouraging more enterprises to invest in China.

List of EU countries (1999)

country

zone

Human population

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

per capita GDP (gross domestic product)

Total trade volume

Belgium

30 562

10 24 1 506

236 billion

23400

282.2 billion

France

574 008

59 329 69 1

132 billion

22600

544 billion

Germany

356 902

82 797 408

18 10 billion

22 100

936 billion

Italy

30 1 2 17

57 634 327

124 billion

20800

445 billion

Luxembourg

2 584

437 389

654.38+03.9 billion

32000

654.38+065 billion

the Netherlands

4 1 525

15 892 237

348.6 billion

22000

302 billion

Britain, England

244 755

59 508 382

1252 billion

2 1200

575 billion

Denmark

43 095

5 336 394

6543.8+24 million

23300

94.9 billion

Ireland

70 189

3 797 257

67 1 100 million

18600

654.38+004.6 billion

Greece

13 1 83 1

10 60 1 527

6543.8+43 million

13400

40 1 100 million

Portugal

92 390

10 048 232

654.38+044.8 billion

14600

59.9 billion

Spain

504 739

39 996 67 1

645.6 billion

16500

243.4 billion

Austria

83 859

8 13 1 1 1 1

654.38+084.5 billion

22700

654.38+028.3 billion

Finland

336 959

5 167 486

654.38+003.6 billion

20 100

73.7 billion

Sweden

449 965

8 873 052

654.38+75 million

19700

152 1 billion

Total 15 countries

3264580

377792670

7808 1 100 million

20533

3,997.7 billion

Poland

3 12 6 13

38 646 023

263 billion

6800

65.7 billion

Czech(people)

574 008

10 272 109

116.7 billion

1 1300

240.6 billion

Hungary

92 98 1

10 138 844

74.5 billion

7400

43.6 billion

Cyprus