Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State in the administrations of both President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford supposedly once said “if I want to call Europe, who do I call?” The consensus at the time was that there was no point of organisational identity within Europe. Today, the EU has seven institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors. The answer to any question now can undoubtedly be found.
The EU has come a long way from its beginnings in 1952 as a six-nation Coal and Steel Community. Since then we have seen numerous waves of enlargement with another on its way: Croatia is set to become the EU’s 28th Member State on 1st July 2013. The important question that needs to be asked, however, is how much can the European political system take before it explodes?
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are all candidate countries and going through the process of negotiations for full membership, whilst Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are on the side lines as potential candidates.
Supporters of enlargement say that apart from expanding the single market, it is reuniting a continent once divided by the Cold War, spreading stability and prosperity and giving Europe more weight on the world stage. However with recent events such as the economic crisis hitting European citizens hard, it’s arguable that many have lost faith in the European project and subsequently enlargement. Both the Introduction of the Euro and the increased number of member states are now being seen as costly mistakes.
It is generally agreed amongst Europhiles that Europe definitely needs a united vision but the higher the number of member states, the greater the difficulty for the EU to act effectively, especially in areas where unanimity is required. There is also a greater need to distinguish between European institutions and member states. Who is responsible for what? Decision-making in the EU has not ground to a halt, yet but is this inevitable with more becoming involved. Moreover, the current handling of the Euro crisis is doing little to convince those who out rightly oppose further enlargement
Shutting the door to any new member states may very well be what is needed. Has the time come to openly and honestly debate Europe’s future?
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