Abstract
Already in the autumn of 1989, it became apparent that the policy instruments discussed in Chapters 3 and 4 — the trade arrangements, PHARE, and so on — would be insufficient for reaching the Community/EPC’s objectives in Eastern Europe. The East European countries were demanding closer relations and most of all, eventual Community membership. Many in Western and Eastern Europe argued that the reform efforts would continue, even as they caused hardship, only if the Community promised that the East European states could eventually become members and established closer, more formal ties with them. The Community thus had to decide to tighten its links with countries whose democratic and capitalist credentials were still uncertain, yet the success of the reforms was perceived to depend on such a decision.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
And Franco-German relations were rocky until January 1990, when Kohl took a stand on the Polish border issue (the Oder-Neisse line) and called for close Franco-German cooperation to push for deeper European integration. Lippert and Stevens-Ströhmann, German Unification, pp. 16–17.
Ian Davidson, Robert Mauthner and David Buchan, ‘EC Heads Pledge Economic Help for Eastern Europe’, The Financial Times, 20 November 1989.
‘A Ten-Point Program for Overcoming the Division of Germany and Europe’, reprinted in Harold James and Marla Stone, eds, When the Wall Came Down: Reactions to German Unification (London: Routledge, 1992), pp. 33–41.
David Spence, Enlargement Without Accession: The EC’s Response to German Unification, RIIA Discussion Paper no. 36 (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1991), p. 8, and ‘Deeper, still, and deeper’, The Economist, 16 December 1989.
Spence, Enlaigement, p. 9. The EP would thus have to relinquish its power of assent on membership applications; instead, the cooperation procedure was used to approve the transitional measures. Benno Teschke, ‘The Incorporation of the Five New Lander into the European Community: Political, Legal and Economic Aspects’, European Access, no. 2, April 1992, p. 8.
Françoise de La Serre and Christian Lequesne, ‘France and the European Union’, in Alan Cafruny and Glenda Rosenthal, eds, The State of the European Community Vol. 2: The Maastricht Debates and Beyond (London: Lynne Rienner, 1993), p. 146.
‘The Community and German Unification’ in ‘The European Community and Germany Unification’, EC Bulletin Supplement 4/90.
The summit also discussed a possible IGC on political union, making manifest the link between deepening integration and German unification. ‘Statement Concerning the Dublin European Council Meeting of 28 and 29 April 1990’, Document no. 90/195, EPC Documentation Bulletin, vol. 6, 1990.
Timothy Garton Ash, ‘Poor but Clubbable’, The Independent, 19 January 1990.
William Wallace, ‘From Twelve to Twenty-Four? The Challenges to the EC Posed by the Revolutions in Eastern Europe’, in Colin Crouch and David Marquand, eds, Towards Greater Europe?A Continent Without an
John Palmer, ‘Hungarians Join The Growing Queue for EC Membership’, The Guardian, 18 July 1990.
See Tibor Palankai, The European Community and Central European Integration: The Hungarian Case, Occasional Paper Series no. 21 (New York: Institute for East-West Security Studies, 1991), pp. 19–20.
Jiri Dienstbier, ‘Central Europe’s Security’, Foreign Policy, no. 83, Summer 1991, p. 127.
George Graham, ‘EC Ministers Agree on Urgent Visits to East Europe’, The Financial Times, 16 October 1989 and Agence Europe no. 5112, 16–17 October 1989.
David Usborne, ‘Delors Frames EC “Ostpolitik”’, The Independent, 16 November 1989.
David Allen, ‘West European Responses to Change in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe’, in Reinhardt Rummel, ed., Toward Political Union: Planning a Common Foreign and Security Policy in the European Community (Boulder: Westview, 1992), p. 122.
Barry Buzan, et al., The European Security Order Recast: Scenarios for the Post-Cold War Era (London: Pinter, 1990), p. 209.
Françoise de La Serre, ‘The EC and Central and Eastern Europe’, in Leon Hurwitz and Christian Lequesne, eds, The State of the European Community: Politics, Institutions, and Debates in the Transition Years 1989–1990 (Harlow: Longman, 1991), p. 311.
‘Statement on the Programme of Activities of the Irish Presidency’, Document no. 90/001, EPC Documentation Bulletin, vol. 6, 1990. The Irish presidency was keen on ensuring consistency: it organized two meetings on Eastern Europe in which the foreign ministers participated in their Council and EPC capacities and were joined by the Permanent Representatives and Political Directors. They took place on 20 January and 21 April 1990. Nuttall, European Political Co-operation, p. 278. The Irish presidency also began the practice of merging the agendas of EPC and EC Council meetings.
‘Communication from the Commission to the Council: Implications of Recent Changes in Central and Eastern Europe for the Community’s Relations with the Countries Concerned’, SEC (90) 111 final, 23 January 1990, p. 5.
Commission of the European Communities, ‘The Development of the Community’s Relations with the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe’, SEC (90) 196 final, 1 February 1990, p. 6.
‘Statement Concerning the Dublin European Council Meeting of 28 and 29 April 1990’, Document no. 90/195, EPC Documentation Bulletin, vol. 6, 1990. On the Commission’s proposal, see Agence Europe no. 5239, 21 April 1990.
Commission of the European Communities, ‘Association Agreements with the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe: A General Outline’, COM (90) 398 final, 27 August 1990, p. 1. The term ‘Europe agreements’ apparently arose from a dinner conversation between Delors and the Polish prime minister in early February 1990; Delors said the EC wanted to put the ‘European flag’ in each country. Interview with Commission official in Brussels, March 1996.
Meetings were held once each presidency in the capital of the Community’s president, between the political director of each country concerned and the political directors of the presidency and the Commission. Nuttall, European Political Co-operation, pp. 292–3.
Interview with Commission official, March 1996. Before the SEA (which specified the need for consistency), the Commission’s involvement in negotiating arrangements for political dialogue would have been limited, to say the least. See Taylor, Limits, pp. 121–32.
David Buchan, ‘East Europe Hopes of EC Integration Being Dashed’, The Financial Times, 26 March 1991.
In early April, Polish President Lech Walesa requested that the preamble refer to Poland’s future accession to the EC. EC Bulletin no. 4, 1991, pt. 1.3.3.
David Buchan, ‘Brussels Opens Its Doors to Trade With Eastern Europe’, The Financial Times, 19 April 1991, and Agence Europe no. 5473, 17 April 1991.
Martin Delgado, ‘EC’s Deaf Ear to Polish Trade Plea’, The European, 17 May 1991.
Belgian, German, Greek and Dutch farmers had also demonstrated. Alexandra Frean, ‘Europe’s Farmers Rebel’, The European, 4 October 1991.
In July, they suggested that the EC should instead encourage the resumption of agricultural trade between the Soviet Union and the East European countries. Agence Europe no. 5544, 29–30 July 1991.
Though in April 1991, Andriessen had told the Bulgarian prime minister that an agreement could be signed within a few months. Agence Europe no. 5482, 29–30 April 1991. Also in April, Romania signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union, a sign that applying conditionality could end up chasing the East European states back into the Soviet/Russian sphere of influence. (The treaty was never ratified, given the breakup of the Soviet Union.) Vladimir Socor, ‘The RomanianSoviet Friendship Treaty and its Regional Implications’, RFE/RL Research Institute, Report on Eastern Europe, vol. 2, no. 18, 3 May 1991.
In the Portuguese presidency’s answer to ‘Question No. H-1233/91 by Ms Banotti on EC/Romania relations’, Document no. 92/014 in EPC Documentation Bulletin, vol. 8, 1992.
See Marc Maresceau, ‘Les Accords Européens: Analyse Générale’, Revue du Marche Commun et de l’Union Europeenne, no. 369, June 1993 and Claude-Pierre Lucron, ‘Contenu et Portée des Accords entre la Communauté et la Hongrie, la Pologne et la Tchecoslovaquie’, Revue du Marche Commun, no. 357, April 1992.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2004 Karen E. Smith
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smith, K.E. (2004). Association. In: The Making of EU Foreign Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230536784_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230536784_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-1718-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-53678-4
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)