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Phase 1: From the UK's first membership application to the EFTA enlargement
Enlargement to the north:
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1961: the UK's first membership application |
The first phase of expansion that we will be looking at is enlargement to the north. The UK's first application was made in 1961, only four years after the Treaty of Rome had come into force. Eleven years would pass, however, before Great Britain, Denmark and Ireland were finally able to join. But what were the reasons for this?
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Opposition from de Gaulle |
One of the biggest stumbling blocks was the determined resistance displayed by the French President, de Gaulle. While economic motives might also have played a part, the main reasons for this resistance were political and above all the fear that by allowing Great Britain - a country with a "special" relationship to the USA" - to become a member of the Community, the United States would be able to influence the development of the Community. This stood in stark contrast to de Gaulle's fundamental belief that the EC should be structured as cooperation between sovereign states independent of American influence.
In contrast, other member states and the Commission thought that membership of the U.K. would offer a welcome counterbalance to French dominance. In other words: The position of member states was characterised by their basic attitudes to the future direction of EC development. The potential membership of the U.K. was viewed as something that could either strengthen or weaken the individual position of member states and not as a complex of problems in its own right.
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Enlargement to the north reflected in the analysis graphic |
This is how the graphic looks with the influencing factors included:
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The sectorial interests of France: Agricultural policy |
Over the long-term, however, France was unable to prevent expansion.
De Gaulle's successor, Georges Pompidou, agreed to restart negotiations at The Hague Summit Meeting in 1969. One of the most decisive factors for this agreement was that it was possible to take the interests of all member states into account as part of a large package deal. In return for France's consent to enlargement, the package deal included the agreement of all other member states to complete and further expand the scope of the Common Agricultural Policy. This means that extraordinarily important sectorial interests were at stake.
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Effects of enlargement to the north |
Unfortunately, we do not have the time or space to go into the far-reaching consequences of this first European expansion on the integration process. All the same, Great Britain and Denmark clearly held a totally different view on what the role of the Community should be. They both regarded the EC primarily as an economic community, from which they hoped to achieve economical benefit. Both countries were totally against allowing any further erosion of national sovereignty. In both countries the very membership of the EC represented an issue on which public opinion was deeply divided.
Indeed, it was mainly this situation - set against the need to reach unanimous decisions - that was responsible for the series of crises and stagnation in the Community's development during the 70s and at the beginning of the 80s
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Enlargement to the south
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Enlargement to the south seen as a positive development |
While the desirability of British membership was being called into question, the membership of Greece, Spain and Portugal, otherwise known as the enlargement to the south, was, for politically strategic reasons, regarded unanimously as a positive and necessary move. Concerns were being raised, however, as to the possible economic and institutional consequences of the expansion south. The level of economic development of all three countries was considerably lower than the Community average; in addition to this, it was feared that three more members would mean increased heterogeneity. This coupled with a significant increase in its membership, led many people to believe that the efficiency of the institutions and the decision-making processes would be impaired.
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Enlargement to the south influenced by internal EU difficulties |
The biggest influence on the expansion south was caused by internal difficulties within the Community at the beginning of the 80s. In reality the arguments were really about fundamental differences over the direction of future integration. These problems caused accession negotiations to be delayed on numerous occasions and it was not until 1984 and the Summit in Fontainebleau, where it was decided to move towards an internal market and the Single European Act, that a firm date could be agreed upon for the membership of Spain and Portugal - the 1st of January 1986. Here, too, enlargement to the south had an impact on the way in which the Community would develop. Individual policy areas, in particular the Common Agricultural Policy were affected the most. Regional policy had to be expanded in order to gain approval from the new members on the internal market - and much more besides.
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Influencing factors of enlargement to the south |
When we look at the factors influencing enlargement to the south in our graphic, it is clear that all the determinants played a role in the process this time.
Because the Treaty required that all member states had to reach a unanimous decision, agreement was made very difficult because of the differing attitudes and interests involved. Tension between enlargement and deepening. The first was only possible with a simultaneous move towards deeper cooperation (SEA and internal market). Sectorial interests, particularly in agriculture.
National interests with regards to the EU's further development. Should the future direction of the EU take on a more intergovernmental character, concentrating mainly on economic benefits - in line with with what Britain and Denmark wanted - or should it make further steps towards deepening cooperation including the integration of the political dimension in line with what countries such as Germany wanted.
And finally fears about the EU system becoming incapable of making decisions set against the background of large growth in the Community's heterogeneity with the enlargement of the EU to the south.
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EFTA enlargement
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EFTA enlargement unproblematic |
All in all, it can be said that the most unproblematic expansion of all was the last in which Austria, Sweden and Finland joined. The relationship between the countries belonging to the EFTA and the Community had been governed since 1972 in the form of bilateral free trade agreements, which were replaced in January 1994 by an agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). This means, then, that trade relationships had been very close for a long time; many of the EU's regulations, especially those connected to the internal market, had been adopted by these three countries as part of the EEA agreement before their membership. Moreover, all three countries boasted a relatively high level of economic development. One of the most important potential political problems had been their neutral status, but this problem had faded greatly since the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the Cold War. Indeed, given the interest of these countries in issues such as transparency and social and environmental policy, many expected new impetus for existing EU policies.
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Factors influencing the three enlargement rounds: A summary
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All 3 enlargements influenced by a special combination of factors on the graphic |
If we review all three previous expansion rounds together, the result is quite surprising. Despite, as we have just shown, that fact that all three previous enlargements of the EU took place under very different circumstances, they were all influenced by a specific combination of factors, which our graphic has represented.
One of the shared characteristics of all previous enlargement rounds has been that they have all been linked with a deepening of the integration process. Just think back to the Werner Plan and the establishment of European Political Cooperation (EPC) in 1969, to the Single European Act in 1987 and the Treaty of Maastricht in 1992. And that completes our look at the determinants affecting previous rounds of enlargement.
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[Author: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schumann]
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