EU enlargement: finding a balance between growing and deepening

Two MEPs examine the issues facing a growing EU

The European Union has a moral obligation to keep its promises and to keep the door open for further enlargement, says Cecilia Malmstr�m

As we celebrate the second anniversary of the EU's most recent enlargement, we should acknowledge that it has been a true success story. By reuniting eastern and western Europe, we have created a united continent based on democracy, freedom and an open market economy.

EU membership was an important 'carrot' that helped the new fragile democracies to reform after decades of communist dictatorship. The prospect of joining the European community had an enormous impact on the willingness to put up with the sometimes painful changes that were necessary to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. Likewise, the prospect of membership is of the utmost importance for the reform process in countries such as Turkey, Croatia and in the Balkans.

Enlargement has contributed to a more stable and democratic Europe, thereby demonstrating European 'soft power'. We have a moral obligation to keep the door open for further enlargement. Bulgaria and Romania will be members within a year or two and the process has started with Croatia and Turkey. We must be consistent and show these countries and those in the Balkans that we are serious about membership the day they are ready to join. The open wounds of the Balkans cannot be healed unless these countries sit together on an equal basis around the same table and discuss REACH (the chemicals legislation proposal), structural funds, and milk quotas. I am aware that the road is still difficult and long, but what is the alternative? If we close the door, we risk a nationalist backlash, an end to reform and an unstable neighbourhood. Also, the prospect of membership should remain open for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. For the oppressed people in Belarus, Europe is the only hope of a better future.

The current mood in the EU is worrying. The unease after the rejection of the EU constitution in the referenda in France and the Netherlands, the wave of protectionism and weak leadership send worrying signals to our European neighbours. Many of my colleagues hide their fear of a Muslim Turkey behind a rhetoric of 'absorption capacity' and 'borders of Europe'. The truth is that a democratic, stable Turkey with a market economy would be a real asset to the Union. Turkey would not only bring its rich culture and history into the EU mosaic, it would also serve as a model for other Muslim countries, showing how democracy and Islam can be fruitfully combined.

It is evident that Turkey still needs to reform - a lot. The country has serious problems with human rights and its Kurdish minority lives under appalling conditions. Obviously, Cyprus must be recognised before membership can be envisaged. The timetable is in the hands of the Turkish government and people, but we can help, encourage and support. The best way to do this is to stick to our promises and not blur the negotiations by introducing alternative concepts such as 'a privileged partnership'.

There is no evidence of a general enlargement fatigue in Europe if you study the polls, but European leaders have failed to explain the benefits of enlargement to their citizens. It is not only about the historical mission of creating peace and stability and spreading European values to more than 450 million people. There is also the advantage of having almost the whole continent involved in solving our common problems and challenges - environmental problems, unemployment, cross-border crime and the fight against terrorism.

The European project is about building a single market and this is a powerful tool for bringing about democracy, peace, wealth and stability among neighbours. We can afford to include more members in this project. Pacta sunt servanda - deals must be respected.

• Swedish Liberal MEP Cecilia Malmstr�m is a member of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

A new enlargement strategy could give the EU more credibility to be a catalyst for democracy and peace in Europe, says Elmar Brok

The European Parliament has recently adopted my report on a new enlargement strategy for the European Union. For decades, EU enlargement has been the most successful instrument of European foreign policy.

For many of our neighbouring countries the prospect of EU membership has been the strongest driver behind their democratic reforms. Enlargement reached its climax in 2004 when ten new member states from central and eastern Europe joined the Union. But with this round of enlargement the EU also reached the limits of its absorption capacity. All the same, the next stages of enlargement have already been set: Bulgaria and Romania could join the EU next year. But the EU has come to the limits of its capacity to cope with the integration of additional countries. In fact, the Union is on the verge of being overstretched.

The crucial point in this approach agreed by the Parliament is the accession criterion of absorption capacity, which was agreed by EU leaders at the Copenhagen summit in 1993. In the future, the EU cannot allow any further accessions until it is capable of fulfilling the promise of accession itself. That is why the Parliament is calling upon the European Commission to submit a report by the end of this year setting out the principles which underpin the concept of the EU's absorption capacity. Only then will this criterion become operational.

In addition, the report stresses the importance of providing our partner countries with a European perspective as an incentive for their internal reforms. It is not only those countries that have already started accession negotiations which need this perspective in order for their way to be directed towards Europe, democracy and stability. It is also those with candidate status as well as those which were promised a membership prospect at the 2003 summit in Thessaloniki - a promise that should not be broken. It also applies to Ukraine and other states in Europe that remain under dictatorship. The EU's neighbourhood policy alone is not sufficient to ensure this. The prospect of full membership, on the other hand, often makes it difficult for those countries to develop close relations with the EU when membership can only be realised within a time frame of many years.

Hence, the new strategy introduces a third option between the neighbourhood policy and full membership. It would be open to all countries who are not currently EU members and could take the shape of a European Economic Area plus (EEA+). Partner countries could gradually adopt 40-60% of EU legislation, making possible closer co-operation on a multilateral basis, for example in the fields of the internal market, environmental issues and security of borders. At the end of this intermediary step, full membership would be much easier, provided that the necessary criteria had been fulfilled on both sides and that there was still the wish to take this final step. Similarly, it could also remain the final stage of co-operation if desired. For instance, in 1995 three members of the EEA - Austria, Finland and Sweden - joined the EU while Norway decided to abstain from full membership. Nevertheless, Norway today is a very close partner of the EU, for example in the framework of the Schengen agreement.

In the future, such an approach would provide the EU with more room to manoeuvre in view of the different levels of development of the candidate countries. The dilemma of conducting negotiations over years and then facing a simple "yes or no" decision could be overcome. We could provide our neighbours with a credible European perspective without exposing ourselves to the pressure of a promise of accession that we or they might not be able to keep. This way European integration could be given a new momentum while keeping a strong political union. The new enlargement strategy could give the EU more credibility to be a catalyst for democracy, rule of law and peace in Europe.

• German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok is chairman of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Two MEPs examine the issues facing a growing EU.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'EU enlargement'.