The prospect of joining the bloc has acted as a carrot, keeping neighbours on the path of reforms needed to do so. But once inside, those countries have strengthened the EU too
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThis is not because of the French authorities’ repeatedly dashed hopes for a continuous baby boom. Rather, of the 447m people now living in the, half are from 21 countries that acceded as part of seven waves of new entrants. The start of 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the first enlargement.
That mix of exhilaration and terror is how Anne Anderson, who joined the Irish diplomatic service just two months before accession, describes the mood in Dublin as 1973 dawned. “We wanted to show Ireland had earned its place at the table,” she said at a recent event in Brussels put on by the Irish and Danish representations to the.
than they pay into it. Against that, eastern Europeans drive up economic growth as they converge towards Western living standards. Some newer member states—bolshy Poland and autocratic Hungary come to mind—have dampened enthusiasm for later enlargements, not to mention appetite for future ones. But Ireland and Denmark were obstructive too, in their time. Twice in the 2000s Ireland temporarily derailed new constitutional arrangements for the entire.
Before enlargement Europe was not so much a common polity as a geographical expression. Now citizens in all 27 countries agree that what brings Europeans from across the continent together is more important than what separates them. The same citizens are in favour of welcoming new members, even more so in the wake of the war in Ukraine. A journey started half a century ago in Copenhagen and Dublin should be continued in Tirana and Kyiv.
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