InfoTrac Reader European Union There is a paradox in recent studies of the European Union. On the one hand, most observers think it has lost a lot of the momentum it gained during Jacques Delors’ presidency. However, on the other hand, it is hard not to take note of the changes taking place in it which are both broadening its membership and deepening its institutions. The most visible change was the introduction of the euro in 2002. The euro has replaced the national currencies of most member states, and it is probably only a matter of time until the others join the so-called euro zone. However, Sweden recently refused to use the euro, and Britain is also a high-profile non-user. In 2002, the EU also agreed to admit ten new members, most of which are former communist countries. That means that they are poorer and have less experience with democracy than the first 15 members. These ten countries (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia) joined the EU on May 1, 2004. Adding another hundred million or so people has required a dramatic restructuring of the major EU institutions, including membership on the Commission, the size of the Parliament, and the use of qualified majority voting. Finally, the EU is still struggling to create a constitution. However, numerous obstacles have been encountered that have slowed the process. Fanfare for a larger Europe - Something to celebrate; EU enlargement. (Celebrating the enlargement of the European Union) The Economist (US) May 1, 2004 v371 i8373 p12US (1016 words) Poland And The EU; Will the dynamic Poles energize Europe or sink into a bureaucratic, slow-growth trap? Business Week May 10, 2004 i3882 p24 (3036 words) At Last, Enlargement Day Has Come. Will it Bring Prosperity Or Troubles--or both? (European Union)(Cover Story) Newsweek International May 10, 2004 p18 (914 words) A Bridge to Nowhere; EU membership (and subsidies) were meant to link Greece to modernity. It hasn't worked out that way. (Cover Story) Newsweek International May 10, 2004 p20 (1755 words) The End Of Europe; Every beginning is the end of something else. The new era of European enlargement will be no exception. (Cover Story) Newsweek International May 3, 2004 p26 (1137 words) Ready for Europe, or No? Turkish membership would change the EU 'Christian club' forever. The dirty secret: that's why it may well not happen. (Cover Story) Newsweek International May 3, 2004 p31 (513 words) Fear of Foreigners; Westerners worry about an invasion of migrants, come May 1. But so do many of those in the East. Ginanne Brownell, Stryker McGuire, Friso Endt, Katka Krosnar, Charlotta Larsson. Newsweek International March 1, 2004 p26 (1137 words) Three's a crowd; Charlemagne. (The Franco-German-British relationship) The Economist (US) Jan 31, 2004 v370 i8360 p53US (1012 words) Europe's floundering fathers. (European Union proposed constitution) Jack Rakove. Foreign Policy Sept-Oct 2003 i138 p28(11) (5733 words) The Two Europes: How Jacques Chirac got that way -- and why others (blessedly) are different. Michael Knox Beran. National Review July 28, 2003 v55 i14 pNA (2967 words) Tidying up or tyranny? The European Union's constitution. (The European Union's controversial constitution) The Economist (US) May 31, 2003 v367 i8326 p52US When Worlds Collide. (New Europe) Stryker Mcguire, Ginanne Brownell, Katka Krosnar, Eve Conant. Newsweek International May 5, 2003 p34 The Europeanization of national government and policy: A departmental perspective. Andrew Jordan. British Journal of Political Science April 2003 v33 i2 p261(22) Betting on the EU; The Buzz: Despite the problems ahead, at least one influential group seems to have faith in Europe: U.S. companies. (Cover Story) William Drozdiak. Newsweek International May 10, 2004 p22 (819 words) The joys of enlargement; EU expansion. (Business in a bigger Europe) The Economist (US) April 10, 2004 v371 i8370 p52US (977 words) Business: The Price is Wrong; No matter what officials say, consumers are convinced that the euro is jacking up prices, and phantom inflation is eating away at the new Europe. Karen Lowry Miller, Cristiana Fabiani, Eric Pape, Andrew Ehrenkranz, Stefan Theil. Newsweek International April 5, 2004 p36 (1453 words) A Franco-German beauty contest - A Franco-German beauty contest; European economic reforms. (The struggle to reform Europe's sclerotic economies) The Economist (US) Oct 18, 2003 v369 i8346 p12US (1027 words) The Stockholm syndrome; Charlemagne. (How the Swedish no affects the euro elsewhere) The Economist (US) Sept 20, 2003 v368 i8342 p52US (962 words) Biscoe, Adam, "Economic Integration and the Maintenance of Regional Cultural Diversity." Regional Studies. 35 (2001). The emphasis on economic individualism runs counter to the EU’s stated desire to support regional, minority cultures. Advanced/ Dimitrova, Antoaneta,"Englargement, Institution Building, and the EU’s Administrative Capacity Requirement." West European Politics. 25 (2002). Dimitrova reaches less optimistic conclusions than either Jordan or Keleman (see below) at least as far as the capacity of European institutions in the countries which will become members in 2004. Gibson, James and Gregory Caldeira, "Changes in the Legitimacy of the European Court of Justice." British Journal of Political Science. 28 (1998). Although it has exercised its sweeping powers of judicial review, the ECJ does not have much public awareness or legitimacy. This, like the "democratic deficit" is likely to slow public acceptance of the larger, more powerful, and seemingly more distant EU. Advanced. Jordan, Andrew, "The Europeanization of National Government and Policy: A Departmental Perspective." British Journal of Political Science. 33(2003). The author uses the British Department of the Environment as a test case to show just how much European policies and procedures have produced change at the national level in terms of administration as well as policy. Advanced. Keleman, R. Daniel, "The Politics of Eurostructure and the New European Agencies." West European Politics. 25 (2002). As the EU has taken on new tasks, it has also had to develop institutions which it has done largely on the basis of political compromises between the Commission and the Council. Advanced. Moravcsik, Andrew, "Europe Comes of Age." Newsweek International. The best short article on recent plans to enlarge the European Union and bestow it with a constitution which would also give it a president and foreign minister. Basic. Peterson, John. "States, Sovereignty, and the European Union." This article tries to sum up the implications of the EU for national sovereign and state/society relations, two of the most important concepts in political science. Advanced. Warleigh, Alex. "Better the Devil You Know? Synthetic and Confederal Understandings of European Integration." West European Politics. 21 (1998). Although this article is fairly old, it is still the best source on using conventional techniques of comparative politics for understanding the EU. Advanced. Weidenfeld, Werner. "The Euro and the New Face of the European Union." The Washington Quarterly. 22 (1999). Though written more than two years before euro notes and coins were put in circulation, this article explores how the euro could help cement European institutions even if it does not have a massive economic impact. Intermediate. Weselovsky, Tony. "East Meets West: EU Expansion and the Troubled Former Communist Countries." Multinational Monitor. 23 (May 2002). A solid basic overview of what the new members will add (and how they might harm) the EU. Includes a picture of the author wearing an elaborate sheepskin coat surrounded by a field full of sheep. Basic.