TheWorldJournal.com

European Reunion
By Jean-Francois Numainville, TheWorldJournal.com

"For the first time in history, Europe will be united by the free will of its people", said EU president Romano Prodi after the signature of the agreement in Copenhagen allowing 10 new countries to be part of the European Union, now counting on 25 countries. This means that 75 million persons - from Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic - will share a common government with the 15 current members of the union. Broadly, the European government was set up to improve the economy of all its members by sharing wealth and resources while restricting protective legislation undermining trades between countries.

Although the European union has previously expanded its border, the extend of the increase (which will officially take effect on May 1st 2004) is unprecedented. Not long ago, the union was composed of 12 members (like the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany), and the treaty signed in Copenhagen will pave the way to increase the current number from 10 to 25. Moreover, an agreement is in the making to possibly allow Turkey to become the eventual 26th member, as early as December 2004. The deal settled also allows a financial relief for the coming members: 1.1 billion euros for agriculture, and 300 million euros for investments in the economy.

The expansion of the European Union was somewhat criticized for being to compromising for the current members of the union. Indeed, even if joining with east European countries seems like a logical step, there are humongous differences between the current and future members in critical issues like health and education services and in the wealth of the nations. The inclusion of poorer countries is a disadvantage for the current members because their government will now be required to inject funds in the improvement of the economies of their eastern counterparts.

But before May 2004, the new members will have to qualify to strict rules negotiated in order to limit the financial implication of the countries already members of the union. For the next year and a half, the candidates of the union are going to be put in the obligation of shaping up their economy and governmental system, which came out of communism just 15 years ago. To accomplish the demands of the union, the efficiency of their governments - issues regarding the size of the government and to corruption - will have to be improved. Moreover, the unemployment, inflation and crime rates will have to stay under predefined levels, and access to health care and education will have to become easier for the population of those countries.

Yet, even if the western European countries are way ahead of their eastern neighbour, the completion of the Copenhagen agreement wasn't just a nice gesture to help disadvantaged old friends. Indeed the long-term general well being of all Europe has to include the situation of the Eastern countries. Both sides of the former Iron Curtain not only share the same borders, but they also have resources and a market that they must trade for their common advantage. In order words, there is now benefice for the current European Union to be without a potential market of 10 countries and to have to suffer the consequences of high tariffs on the importation of goods from the old eastern block. Conversely, Easterners have a lot to get from their neighbours to help them get regain the strength they lost after the end of the communism era.

After all, the future of Europe will look definitively more promising for all of their members if they learn to set aside they individual problems for the common good of their union.

© January 10, 2003