Europe Unites: The EU's Eastern Enlargement

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The EU's eastern enlargement has coincided with a decade of rapid progress toward closer European integration. The author argues that this enlargement, more than any previous one, is closely linked with major EU projects of integration, including justice and home affairs, monetary union, a common foreign and security policy, and the effort to create a constitutional treaty. By requiring the eastern states to adopt extensive reforms in their judicial and police systems, the enlargement process makes it easier for the EU to combat terrorism and organized crime and control the flow of immigration from outside Europe. The monetary union was deliberately put in place before enlargement (which might have made the task more difficult), but now the Stability and Growth Pact requires reform to make it flexible enough to serve a larger, more diverse Union. The addition of ten new states provides one of the main incentives for drafting a constitutional treaty. Finally, the candidate countries are helping to lay the groundwork for the next EU enlargement into southeastern Europe. As the first college text to explore the impact of the eastern enlargement on European integration, this book can be used effectively in comparative government, economics, European history, and international relations courses.

Reviews

[T]his is an excellent choice. It is appropriate both for informed general readers as a text for advanced undergraduate courses on both the EU and European politics.-Political Science Quarterly
Poole does a fine job of identifying and explaining the governance issues confronting Europe, which may be summarized as differences on the question of to what extent member nations retain their sovereignty and to what extent they cede sovereignty to the EU. The monetary debate brings the issue of sovereignty into focus, as some nations decline to join the rest of the EU in monetary union. How this affects other issues is of paramount importance to the future of an enlarged EU. Poole nicely discusses the issues facing the EU as it plans to expand. Given the scope of the project, this is a commendable description and summary of the issues. Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduate through research collections.-Choice
"This is an excellent choice. It is appropriate both for informed general readers as a text for advanced undergraduate courses on both the EU and European politics."-Political Science Quarterly
"[T]his is an excellent choice. It is appropriate both for informed general readers as a text for advanced undergraduate courses on both the EU and European politics."-Political Science Quarterly
"Poole does a fine job of identifying and explaining the governance issues confronting Europe, which may be summarized as differences on the question of to what extent member nations retain their sovereignty and to what extent they cede sovereignty to the EU. The monetary debate brings the issue of sovereignty into focus, as some nations decline to join the rest of the EU in monetary union. How this affects other issues is of paramount importance to the future of an enlarged EU. Poole nicely discusses the issues facing the EU as it plans to expand. Given the scope of the project, this is a commendable description and summary of the issues. Recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduate through research collections."-Choice

Author Bio

PETER A. POOLE is a retired Foreign Service Officer who served in Brussels during the Uruguay Round trade negotiations. Dr. Poole was Director of the M.A. in International Studies at Old Dominion University and currently serves as an Instructor at George Mason University.