Two more nations join EU
(From The Japan Times January 6 issue)

拡大を続ける欧州連合

    When French and Dutch voters rejected the proposed EU constitution in 2005, the EU appeared to have suffered a setback. But the entry of the two Black Sea neighbor countries shows that Europe's integration process is going on unhampered, although there wasn't much fanfare worldwide as happened at the time of the official launching of the euro on Jan. 1, 2002, or the EU's expansion into Eastern Europe in 2004.

    In 2004, the EU embraced Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia — all formerly of the communist bloc. These countries plus Cyprus and Malta, which also joined the EU that year, brought more than 100 million citizens to the EU. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria, which discarded communism in 1989 and applied for EU membership in 1995, means that the reunification of Western and Eastern Europe is nearly complete.

    Both Romania and Bulgaria now can expect some 40 billion euro in EU funds to improve their infrastructure and industry. But the two countries face problems. While their economies are growing, their per capita income is about one-third of the EU average and they add only 1 percent to the EU's economic output. If they fail to make progress in reform, including fights against corruption and organized crime, they may see EU funds slashed.

    Tangible efforts to integrate Europe after World War II materialized in 1951 when the European Coal and Steel Community was set up by France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1957, the six countries went further and signed the Treaties of Rome in 1957, creating the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community, accelerating efforts to form a common market through the removal of trade barriers.

    The EU expanded with the accession of Britain, Denmark and Ireland in 1973, followed by the entry of Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Sweden and Finland in 1995. The EU has created a common market in which people, goods, services and capital move around freely, deepened cooperation among member states in such fields as defense, justice and home affairs, and integrated many member countries' currencies into one, the euro. It represents a large economic zone whose economic output surpasses that of the United States. The euro is quietly contesting the U.S. dollar's position as the main currency for foreign exchange reserves.

    Now that Romania and Bulgaria have joined, the EU will likely take pause at its expansion. Some people and governments may not like to see new waves of immigration hit their countries. While the next strong candidate to join the EU is Turkey, there is persistent sentiment among many EU citizens against Turkey's becoming part of the EU. Opponents feel that Turkey, a Muslim country with a population of more than 70 million, is different from Christian Europe. The EU has suspended some of its membership talks with Turkey because of issues related to strained relations between Turkey and Cyprus.

    2007 is an important year for the EU in a symbolic way. It is the 50th anniversary year of the Treaties of Rome. As Germany serves as EU chair for the first six months of the year, EU member states will renew their determination to further deepen European integration in a declaration to be issued in Berlin in March.

    The big job for the EU is to resuscitate the process to adopt a European constitution. The Treaty of Nice, which took effect in 2003, governs how the EU institutions work. Since the treaty is based on the assumption that its members will number 27, new rules are necessary. The EU is likely to face difficulty in reviving the process to adopt a constitution.

    Still, the fact that the EU exists as a community of nations bound by democratic rules in a region that was the scene of frequent wars should serve as an inspiration for Japan and other countries in East Asia, which are struggling to find common ground for close cooperation 61 years after World War II.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 13, 2007
(C) All rights reserved

    フランス、オランダが05年の国民投票でEU憲章案を否決したことで、EUが後退したと見られたが、ルーマニア、ブルガリアの加盟は欧州統合のプロセスが順調に進んでいることを示している。

    04年には、元共産圏のポーランド、ハンガリー、チェコ共和国、スロバキア共和国、エストニア、ラトビア、リトアニア、スロベ ニアに加え、キプロス、マルタが加盟、EUの総人口は1億人を超えた。ルーマニア、ブルガリアの加盟は、西欧、東欧の統合がほぼ完成したことを意味する。

    しかし、両国の1人当たり国民所得はEU平均の3分の1程度で、改革が遅れれば、EUの補助金が削減される可能性がある。

    EUの歴史は、仏、西独、伊、蘭、ベルギー、ルクセンブルグによって1951年に設立された欧州石炭鉄鋼共同体にさかのぼる。6ヵ国は1957年のローマ条約の下で欧州原子力共同体、欧州経済共同体を設立した。

    EU加盟国は、1973年の英国、デンマーク、アイルランド、81年のギリシャ、86年のスペイン、ポルトガル、95年のオーストリア、スウェーデン、フィンランドと増加を続け、EUは現在、経済産出量において米国を凌駕している。

    07年は、ローマ条約の50周年を迎えるEUにとって重要な年だ。3月にベルリンで開かれる首脳会議では、欧州統合を推進する宣言が発表される予定だ。

    歴史的に戦乱の多い欧州で民主主義を基盤とする共同体が発展していることは、戦後61年を経た日本などの東アジア諸国にとって励みとなる。