|
|
|
Map of Europe |
Email this citationCIAO DATE: 02/03
Enlargement and European Defence After 11 September
Jiri Sedivy, Pal Dunay and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski
Edited by Antonio Missiroli
Chaillot Paper 53
June 2002
All three Central European candidates for EU membership have gone through an evolutionary (and learning) process as regards the development of ESDP: from scepticism and worry – that it could undermine NATO – to qualified acceptance and more direct involvement.
This evolution can be explained through two parallel processes that the contributors spell out very clearly. On the one hand, the path leading to full NATO membership – along which the three candidates increased their interoperability and actual engagement in multilateral peacekeeping – has broadened their foreign policy perspectives, while the war in Kosovo further convinced them of the centrality of the United States as a military actor and coalition leader. On the other hand, the path leading to EU accession has made them realise that the Fifteen might engage ever more directly in European security, while an American presence could not necessarily be taken for granted any longer. Since early entry to the Union has been and still is a key foreign and domestic policy priority for all three, they have basically decided to tone down their ‘Atlanticist’ reservations in order not to endanger their negotiating position. However, they have remained ambivalent over the possible implications and the finalité politieof ESDP.
The only aspect that the three Central European applicants have criti-cised throughout has been their initial inclusion in the generic category of ‘third’ countries, along with other non-Allied candidates and even such non-candidates as Ukraine or Russia. The quest for formal recognition as European allies has been constantly reiterated, and has eventually been partially acknowledged by the Fifteen, although some dissatisfaction with such enhanced ‘third-ness’ has remained. 11 September has also increased their awareness of the need for a more comprehensive approach to security, encompassing justice and home affairs and policy towards the new neighbours to the East: all three countries would prefer to adopt a flexible approach combining more ‘user-friendly’ borders with tighter police controls.
Finally, the internal EU debate over the future of Europe initially raised keen interest among the élites of Central Europe, and the European Convention has made a special effort to involve the governments and par-liaments of all candidates. The early stages of the discussion have so far revealed a certain tension within their delegations between a more com-munautaire approach that emphasises the common European ‘identity’ and common interests, and a more intergovernmental reflex that aims at exerting maximum influence over policy and institutions. Such tension is also palpable between and within the contributions to this paper.
