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European Union's Relations with the Wider Europe
Author(s) -
WHITMAN RICHARD G.,
JUNCOS ANA E.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5965.2009.02021.x
Subject(s) - european union , citation , bosnian , general partnership , political science , library science , history , law , philosophy , business , computer science , international trade , linguistics
Relations with the wider Europe in 2008 were marked by a set of contradic-tory developments. Enlargement of the EU made minimal progress in thelast year with Turkey’s accession negotiations operating at slow speed andCroatia’s path to membership running into obstacles. There was an attemptto breathe new life into the relationship with neighbouring states in theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with the French government’s pro-posals for a Mediterranean Union and a counterbalancing set of proposalsfrom other Member States for an Eastern Partnership. Armed conictbetween Russia and Georgia inAugust, and the Israel military intervention inGaza in late 2008, saw the Union struggling with the role of conict managerwithin its neighbourhood. Further crisis in the form of the global recessionalso impacted on the wider Europe with Iceland experiencing a nancial crisisand the prospect of an unanticipated membership application.