Moderation and speech of Janis A. Emmanouilidis, Stavros Costopoulos Research Fellow at ELIAMEP, at the conference “The Impact of EU Enlargement on European Integration and the Global Political Economy”, which brought together a group of European and Chinese researchers on October 11-12, 2007 in Munich. The conference was organized in the framework of a collaborative research project of the Center for Applied Policy Research (C·A·P) and the Centre for European Studies at Renmin University of China (CESRUC). The conference aimed to summarize and discuss the main findings of two years of research and to develop further research perspectives.
The first panel with Janis A. Emmanouilidis (ELIAMEP, Athens), Prof. Zhao Haifeng (Harbin Institute of Technology), Dr. Barbara Lippert (Institute for European Politics, Berlin), Kai-Olaf Lang (German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin) and Prof. Liu Wenxiu (Renmin University Beijing) addressed the question of “How to deepen an enlarged EU?”. The vast majority of experts agreed that enlargement and deepening do not oppose each other. However, after the 2004/07 enlargement and following the failed ratification of the Constitutional Treaty there is a clear need to unblock the European integration process. The new Reform Treaty is an improtant step forward in this respect. However, the panellists stressed that in light of the growing scepticism in some of the member states the ratification of the new primary law can by no means be taken for granted.
One of the main themes of the subsequent discussion focused on the question of who will be the drivers of European integration in an enlarged EU. Are some of the member states more capable and willing than others to lead the integration process? Many researches doubted that the Franco-German “engine” could be as efficient in an enlarged EU as in the past. In the future, one will rather witness diverging leadership coalitions and the importance of differentiated integration will increase. Most participants agreed that “leadership” will not be a question primarily related to a country’s size but rather related to its political will and its ability to help in the formation of compromises in an heterogenous EU 27+.
The conference in Munich concluded the two years research project, which was supported by the European Commission in the framework of the EU-China European Studies Centres Programme. Janis A. Emmanouilidis had been chair of one of the working groups in the framework of this project. For more information about the conference and overall project see the respective C·A·P website.