It was not least the war in Kosovo that prompted the European states to take further steps to strengthen their joint capacity for action in the area of foreign policy, agreeing in Cologne and Helsinki on a new goal: the development of a common security and defense policy. With this, the Union has taken the next step after the Euro. For how can it be justified in the long term that countries inextricably linked by monetary union and economic and political realities do not also come together to face external threats and maintain their security?
Agreement was also reached in Helsinki on a concrete plan for the enlargement of the EU. With these agreements the external borders of the future EU are already emerging. It is foreseeable that the European Union will have 27, 30 or even more members at the end of the enlargement process, almost as many as the CSCE at its inception.
Thus, we in Europe are currently facing the enormously difficult task of organizing two major projects in parallel:
1. Enlargement as quickly as possible. This poses difficult problems of adaptation both for the acceding states and for the EU itself. It also triggers fear and anxiety in our citizens: are their jobs at risk? Will enlargement make Europe even less transparent and comprehensible to its citizens? As seriously as we must tackle these questions, we must never lose sight of the historic dimension of eastern enlargement. For this is a unique opportunity to unite our continent, wracked by war for centuries, in peace, security, democracy, and prosperity.
Enlargement is a supreme national interest, especially for Germany. It will be possible to lastingly overcome the risks and temptations objectively inherent in Germany’s dimensions and central situation through the enlargement and simultaneous deepening of the EU. Moreover, enlargement – consider the EU’s enlargement to the south – is a pan-European program for growth. Enlargement will bring tremendous benefits for German companies and for employment. Germany must therefore continue its advocacy of rapid eastern enlargement. At the same time, enlargement must be undertaken carefully and in accordance with the Helsinki decision.
2. Europe’s capacity to act. The institutions of the EU were created for six member states. They are still just about functioning with fifteen. The first step toward reform is to be taken at the upcoming intergovernmental conference with the introduction of increased majority voting, and as important as this first step is, it will not suffice in the long run for integration as a whole. The danger will then be that enlargement to 27 or 30 members will hopelessly overload the EU's ability to absorb them with its old institutions and mechanisms, and that it could lead to severe crises. But this danger, it goes without saying, is no reason not to push ahead with enlargement as quickly as possible; rather it shows the need for decisive, appropriate institutional reform so that the Union’s capacity to act is maintained even after enlargement. The consequence of the irrefutable enlargement of the EU is therefore erosion or integration.
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