EU Expansion and Democracy: A Lost Opportunity

Heather Grabbe

Despite many opportunities for the European Union to require better governance from aspiring members during the first wave of EU expansion, the Union's direct impact on democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been limited. With the accession of eight CEE countries on 1 May 2004, the EU's leverage on governance in its new member states will be weaker still.

Since communism's collapse in the region in 1989, CEE populations have aspired to emulate the stability and prosperity of the EU. For ten of these countries, the EU became their single most important source of aid, trade, finance, investment, and security.1 Successive CEE governments-regardless of political color-made EU and NATO membership their top foreign policy priorities.

This emphasis on EU accession gave the EU broad latitude to influence the political and economic development of these countries. As governments scrambled to meet membership conditions, the EU publicly assessed their readiness, influencing the perceptions of other countries, international organizations, and foreign investors regarding the region. EU statements also influenced voter views of government performance within applicant countries.

Heather Grabbe is Deputy Director of the London-based Centre for European Reform.