André Sapir

Political and Economic Challenges Facing the ‘New Europe’: Contributions from Panel Discussions

As the members of the European Union (EU) engage with the Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEECs) in negotiations for their accession, the nature of the discussion on the EU side is altering. The implications of what is at stake are starting to be looked at more closely, the subject matter has become much more technically focused on the acquis communautaire, and the timetable for the negotiations and their completion has become less clear. This process contrasts with the picture of a European continent liberated from its East–West division, in which the political leadership of the EU might be the architects of a new European settlement. It is easy to identify the obstacles and barriers to a smooth process of enlargement and to envisage a multitude of issues that could ensnare the accession negotiations. It is somewhat harder to identify how the EU might make a success of eastward enlargement.