European Union Enlargement Towards The Central And Eastern European Countries With Special Emphasis On The Czech Republic: A Process Of Widening And Deepening

Date of Graduation

Fall 2000

Degree

Master of Global Studies

Department

History

Committee Chair

Beat Kernen

Abstract

After the end of the Cold War and the introduciton of democratic reforms and free market economies in the former East Block countries, there was an expectation that those countries would be able to join Western alliances such as the European Union (EU) or NATO. However, the hope of becoming a member of the EU was not satisfied as early as expected by the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Instead, the EU proved to be rather careful with respect to opening its door to the eastern countries. This study attempts to explore in detail the nature of the relationship between the EU and the CEE countries, the readiness of the CEE countries in meeting the EU criteria for accession, as well as what remains to be done in order for the CEE countries being able to join the EU as full-fledged members. Also, the EU's capacity for taking on ten or more new members is reviewed, especially with respect to its institutional structures and major policies such as the common agricultural policy and the regional policy. In this sense the study reviews the main policy issues and the nature of the EU accession negotiations with the CEE countries. Furthermore, this study presents the CEE countries' potential integration into the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The study presents the specific case of the Czech Republic in an attempt to demonstrate the practical implications of the EU's accession negotiations with the CEE countries and the resulting consequences.

Subject Categories

International and Area Studies

Copyright

© Daniela Bohuslav

Citation-only

Dissertation/Thesis

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