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Summary:
In a considerable number of European capitals the possibility is being discussed of closing the doors of the European Union to new members as part of a possible solution to the constitutional crisis.In France, specifically, but also in Austria and other capitals, this issue dominated the drafting of the conclusions of the European Council held in Brussels on 15-16 June.However, the argument put forward in this analysis is that the problems experienced by the Union have nothing to do with enlargement but with deepening.Accordingly, closing the doors to new members will not solve the Union’s problems, and neither will definitively setting the Union’s borders help to define the European political project.The analysis concludes by affirming that, instead of diverting attention to enlargements that are in no event imminent and continuing to blame new members for constitutional ills for which they are not responsible, European leaders should use their energy to complete a process of integration which, due to a combination of short-sightedness and weakness of will, has already reaped ten years of failure.
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