Obstacles to EU Enlargement: The Classical Community Method and the Prospects for a Wider Europe

Abstract

Abstract The probable expansion of the European Union (EU) to 25 or more Member States raises questions about the way in which the EC/EU has traditionally managed the enlargement process and whether this is an appropriate framework for the future. This article argues that the four enlargement rounds to date have all conformed to the ‘classical Community method’, with an exclusive focus on the applicant's admittances of the acquits communitarian , and negotiations focusing solely on transition periods. In view of the number and heterogeneity of the potential applicants in future rounds, the article examines the pressures likely to bear on the classical method and how it might be adapted.