Publication details
20th anniversary of the EU Eastern enlargement : Stocktaking of the membership experience, challenges, and opportunities
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Contemporary European Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14782804.2025.2491407 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2025.2491407 |
| Keywords | European Union; Eastern enlargement; Central and Eastern Europe; decision-making |
| Description | The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the biggest ever expansion of the European integration project. Therefore, it was a source of challenges never faced by the Union before. This so-called Eastern enlargement brought 10 new member states to the Union, eight of which were post-Communist states from Central and Eastern Europe. These were trying their best to fulfil complex and complicated EU membership requirements midst their economic and political transformation to democratic societies and market economies. Once they became members, countries from Central and Eastern Europe joined the decision process, started to pursue their preferences, and contribute to the functioning and shaping of the EU in many different ways. This special issue examines two decades of membership of these countries within the EU. Ten papers provide various perspectives on multiple issues connected to 20?years of membership of countries from Central and Eastern Europe in the Union. They study various policies (energy, development, etc.) and broader, overarching themes, like their presidencies in the Council of the EU, discourse, nation branding, or democratisation. These articles add to the mosaic of understanding of the membership experience, challenges, and opportunities associated with the 2004 Eastern enlargement of the European Union. |
| Related projects: |