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I have a 2500 word essay (not a practice one) to do and the question is -   How has enlargement from 15 to 27 member states changed the European Union?

I'm bedridden with crippling diarrhoea and stomach pains at the moment so was hoping you guys could give me some ideas. I know fuck all about EU politics but I didn't have a choice with regards to the course, as I was 0.5 credits short and this was the only course they had left.

Thanks in advance.

Shit loads of filthy Eastern Europeans flooding west?

 :fishing:

hiya!!!

Any actual suggestions?

It's made it larger

Hello Sherlock.  ;)

 It's made it more unlikely that you'll get a quiz question...name all 27 states?  Mainly because it's quite difficult to do so, whereas 15...not too bad, unless of course the question is name the 15, before the addition of another 12.

So far I've got

-Made immigration easier as a result of the Schengen agreement
-Allows more extreme parties to have more of a say in the European Parliament
-Affects internal balance of power as new members bring different ideas to the table
-Reform of EU institutions to cope with influx of new member states

Not off here you didn't... :)

If perhaps there were some serious suggestions Reg then maybe I would...

The bigger EU gave us the aqueduct, irrigation, sanitation and the roads.

What has the EU ever done for us?

I'm guessing it strengthens the Euro as more countries/people use it?

Bollocks does it.

Surely it would make it a more powerful currency if there is more usage?

have you heard of the news?

it keeps the Franco/German economy tied down supporting profligate states

Ta

Would it be not worth considering the financial implications the expansion has put upon Britain? Surely that would be worth 2500 words in itself. If you can get the words Blair, Cameron and Cunts in those 2500 words then its a pass from me

Don't get a choice on the questions I'm afraid. We had a list to choose from and this question seemed the most general and accessible.

What about this stimulating read?  :suicide:

http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/publication/enl-understand_en.pdf

I seriously suggest you make better use of the biggest information resource in the world or PM Talk Talk.

I've been looking for stuff online, most of it is shite.

When is it due in?

Thursday.

Get on JSTOR and read some articles by some actual academics... it'll pad out your bibliography too.

Yeah, good luck referencing the TEF...

Ironside pretty much hit the nail on the head with a major point of your essay  :D


Totally off topic - That message I sent you on facebook: I'm working on it, need to upgrade my Card so I can use it online because I haven't since turning 18, and I couldn't be arsed to log into facebook to send this too you.

This is a godsend!

Just canvassing some general ideas. Sift through the shit and find the gems as you do.

1) That depends, many countries kept restrictions on immigration after enlargement and other countries, particularly France suspend the Schengen agreement as and when they see fit.

2) If you suggest that there is the possibility that more MEP seats means more chance of extremist parties having an opportunity to jump and down and shout lots in what's essentially a talking shop (EU Parliament) then maybe you're right. As for having more of a say in EU Governance forget it.

3) You're joking right? Internal balance of power is Germany and France - more Germany at the moment - particularly with the Euro crisis. All other countries are basically told to either take it or leave it.

4) I presume you're using the word reform in the loosest possible term?

Hope that helps

How long have you been a student?  JSTOR is the best and only place to find the best academic articles.  You could also do what some of us did at university - go to the library and read some books.

Is Athens (not the City but the web thingymagig) still going?

Yeah we use Athens here I think.

That shows how much I know about the subject tbh. Nothing.  :D

I've slightly amended the essay topic to make the research slightly more interesting. Hope this helps.

 :D If it were me writing it, I would go along the lines of that the Nice Treaty (I presume that's the one you're talking about) was merely an excuse for further EU integration - basically laid the groundwork for the subsequent Constitution / Lisbon Treaty. That's how the EU works; salami tactics - each treaty has always meant that EU countries integrate a little further and give up more and more sovereignty. Enlargement is always used as an excuse as in return existing countries are required give up more of their vetos and so diminish their power within the EU.

Exactly the same excuse was used in 1969 when Britain, Ireland and Denmark were set to join the original Community of Six – when Pompidou used enlargement as the excuse for establishing the original EEC budget, on which relied the very generous CAP payments that French farmers were going to enjoy.

He needs at least another 2300 words I'd say

Yeah, we use Athens here...

Try Cambridge Journals Online too if (as I suspect) your uni has a subscription there too

Log on to your Uni's network and search using google scholar. Anything your uni has subscribed to you'll be able to read.

Whilst I'd broadly agree don't think that is as much the case as it was. The Germans have been forced to backstop the bailouts of the peripheral countries in the last six months in the form of billions of euros of government bond purchases, to the point where their potential liabilities from Italy, Greece etc make up a massive percentage of their own GDP. The IMF and the European Central Bank have forced them into adopting this much looser monetary policy than they'd like meaning both the German members of the ECB executive board quit in protest last year.