Conclusion

Abstract

Greece’s path to EEC membership represents a fascinating case study of the history of enlargement. A close examination of the process sheds new light not only on the complexities involved but also on some critical dynamics that defined the ways in which the Community worked in the 1970s. This book’s analysis of the role of Greece in the negotiations with the EEC suggests that further layers of complexity existed that have, so far, escaped most observers. In turn, the Community-centred approach adopted in this account illuminates how the Community and its institutions responded to the challenges that were posed by the Greek candidature. New conclusions can be drawn, first, with regard to the behaviour of the major member states and the Commission during the Greek accession talks; second, relating to the mechanics of the enlargement process; and, finally, regarding how the Community evolved in the second half of the 1970s against the background of its perennial dilemma between widening versus deepening and of Cold War realities.