New Direction for EU Enlargement Policy?

Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament, and rapporteur on enlargement, has announced his intention to produce a report calling for a change in EU enlargement policy. He argues that the EU will not be able to continue enlargement the way it has over the last 20 years if it wishes to remain a “political project”. According to Brok, “Even though enlargement policy is without doubt one of the most successful of the Union’s foreign policies, we need a time-out, a period of consolidation.” (Agence Europe) He believes countries in the EU’s neighbourhood should have options other than accession open to them. In particular, he is attracted by the idea of “concentric circles” of different levels of engagement with the EU itself. Countries could use these concentric circles to get closer to the EU without necessarily expecting to eventually become members. As well as proposing a new direction for the EU’s enlargement policy, Brok is criticising the current situation, in particular with regard to the European Commission. According to the MEP, there is a lack of coordination between DG Enlargement and DG External Relations.

The report will be published by the summer, and the working document can be found here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/dv/699/699736/699736en.pdf
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG