Reflection Of Previous Enlargements Among Old Member States

Reflection Of Previous Enlargements Among Old Member States Presented by: Prof Dr. Gnes Date: April 30, 2025 History Of Enlargement - 25-03-1957 - Founding members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - 01-01-1973-First enlargement: Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (-> 9 MS) - 01-01-1981 Second enlargement: Greece (-> 10 MS) - 01-01-1986 - Third enlargement: Spain and Portugal (-> 12 MS) - 01-01-1995 - Fourth enlargement: Austria, Finland and Sweden (-> 15 MS) - 01-05-2004 - Fifth enlargement: (+10 MS) Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia (-> 25 MS) - 01-01-2007 - Sixth enlargement: Bulgaria and Romania (->27 MS) - 01-07-2013- Seventh enlargement: Croatia (-> 28 MS) - Austria (1995) - Belgium (1952) - Bulgaria (2007) - Croatia (2013) - Cyprus (2004) - Czech Republic (2004) - Denmark (1973) - Estonia (2004) - Finland (1995) - France (1952) - Germany (1952) - Greece (1981) - Hungary (2004) - Ireland (1973) - Italy (1952) - Latvia (2004) - Lithuania (2004) - Luxembourg (1952) - Malta (2004) - Netherlands (1952) - Poland (2004) - Portugal (1986) - Romania (2007) - Slovakia (2004) - Slovenia (2004) - Spain (1986) - Sweden (1995) - United Kingdom - (1973-2020) - Candidate countries • Albania • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Georgia • Moldova • Montenegro • North Macedonia • Serbia • Türkiye • Ukraine • Kosovo Conditions And Principles For Accession To EU - Article 49 TEU • Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application. The applicant State shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the consent of the European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component members. The conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council shall be taken into account. • The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. Copenhagen Criteria For Accession To EU - Established by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 and strengthened by the Madrid European Council in 1995: • Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; • A functioning market economy and the ability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU; • The ability to take on the obligations of membership, including the capacity to effectively implement the rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law (the 'acquis'), and adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. The Conditions - A Political Perspective - Speech by Romano Prodi (President of the European Commission) of 13 October 1999 • These requirements include the political and economic criteria adopted by the Copenhagen European Council. The political criteria are that candidate countries must have stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities. The economic criteria are that candidate countries must have a functioning market economy and be able to withstand competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. - I believe this is a strong message of political solidarity with the applicant counties which underlines our sincere desire to open the doors of the Union is a meaningful timeframe. But it is also a message that tells our fellow Europeans in these countries that their future. lies very much in their own hands. We will be ready to receive them. Whether they are willing to join us will depend on their capacity to change and adapt their economic, social, environmental and legal systems. Like the need for our Member States to meet the Maastricht criteria, this effort of adaptation brings intrinsic benefits but is made easier by the constraints of aspiring to future membership. The Fears - The fears related to the country of origin principle: • Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market (doc. COM(2004)2], of 25 Feb 2004  Art. 16 (Country of origin principle) o <<< Member States shall ensure that providers are subject only to the national provisions of their Member State of origin which fall within the coordinated field. Paragraph 1 shall cover national provisions relating to access to and the exercise of a service activity, in particular those requirements governing the behavior of the provider, the quality or content of the service, advertising, contracts and the provider's liability». • Reactions to the Bolkenstain directive proposal:  P. de Villiers, La grande triche du oui, in Le Figaro, 15 March 2005: o <<». • Referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe:  France (29 May 2005) => NO = 54 ,68\%  Netherlands (1 June 2005) => NO = 61 ,6\% The Fundamental Principles Of European Integration - Mutual recognition - Solidarity - Respect of the rule of law - Economic criteria (Maastricht, Copenhagen, etc.) - The Mutual recognition principle (Cassis de Dijon" formula) • <<>> • (Judgment of the Court of 20 February 1979, Rewe-Zentral AG v Bundesmonopolverwaltung für Branntwein, case 120/78, "Cassis de Dijon") - The Mutual recognition principle • Communication from the Commission concerning the consequences of the judgment given by the Court of Justice on 20 February 1979 in Case 120/78 ('Cassis de Dijon') (OJ 3 October 1980, C256, p. 2) • <>. - Cfr. US legal system • Full faith and credit clause (Art. IV, I US Const.)  <<>> • Commerce clause (Art. I, X, n. (2) US Const.)  <<>> - Solidarity • Schumann Declaration of 9 May 1950  "Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity" • ECJ, 20 September 2001, Grzelczyk, C-184/99  <<>> • Solidarity as a legal principle?  a) financial solidarity: art. 122 TFEU; European Stability Mechanism, etc.  b) in the field of migration: art. 80 TFEU  c) social solidarity: artt. 2, 3 TEU and artt. 27 ff. of the European Charter of fundamental rights  d) in other fields: artt. 21, 24, 31, 32 TEU; art. 222 [terrorism] TFEU; Protocol 28 [social cohesion], etc. - Rule of law • Article 2 TEU  "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail." • Article 6 TEU  1. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000, as adapted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties.  The provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties.  The rights, freedoms and principles in the Charter shall be interpreted in accordance with the general provisions in Title VII of the Charter governing its interpretation and application and with due regard to the explanations referred to in the Charter, that set out the sources of those provisions.  2. The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Such accession shall not affect the Union's competences as defined in the Treaties.  3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union's law. • The interpretation and application of the principle of the rule of law is/should be?  political  And/or?  legal (judicial) • The case of the independence of the judiciary / limitation to lower courts to propose preliminary rulings  Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 23 November 2021, Criminal proceedings against IS, case C-564/19 [Hungary]  Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 22 February 2022, Proceedings brought by RS, Case C-430/21 [Romania] • Cf. the long time before French and Italian Council of State made a preliminary ruling; took a long time before the Commission brought an action vs MS however that was a different situation • The case of the conditionality for the protection of the Union budget in the case of breaches of the principles of the rule of law in the Member States  Judgment of the Court (Full Court) of 16 February 2022, Hungary v European Parliament and Council of the European Union, Case C156/21. Enlargement And Construction Of The European Integration - European integration • Is more than a common market, which may be based only on the principle of mutual recognition and some economic conditions • It entails a complex and difficult mix of law and politics, enshrined by principles that have a double face, like solidarity and rule of law