The Accession Story

The EU from 15 to 25 Countries

Edited by George Vassiliou

This book is a useful tool to anyone who is interested in the enlargement of the E.U.
Unprecedented record of what the negotiators of the enlargement really thought of the process

The Accession Story

The EU from 15 to 25 Countries

Edited by George Vassiliou

Description

This book is a useful tool to anyone who is interested in the enlargement of the E.U., to the citizens of the ten acceded countries who would like to know how they managed to accede and also to officials of the new candidate countries, who are preparing their country for accession.

The "Accession Story" provides a unique overview of the enlargement of the E.U. from 15 to 25 countries. It consists of two main parts.

In the first part the then Director General of D.G. Enlargement, Mr. Eneko Landaburu, and Denmark's Permanent Representative in the E.U., Ambassador Poul Christoffersen, provides a comprehensive picture of the enlargement process from the beginning to the end, from the Brussels' point of view.

The second part, written by the ten people responsible for negotiating the accession of their countries, presents the challenges, problems and difficulties each one of the ten countries had to overcome, in order to succeed to adopt the acquis communautaire and be accepted into the E.U.

The Accession Story

The EU from 15 to 25 Countries

Edited by George Vassiliou

PART I - THE ENLARGEMENT FROM 15 TO 25 THE BRUSSEL'S VIEW
1. The need for enlargement and differences from previous accessions, Eneko Landaburu
2. The Preparation of the 5th enlargement, Poul Skytte Christoffersen
3. Organisation of the process and beginning of the negotiations, Poul Skytte Christoffersen
4. From Helsinki to Seville July 1999 - June 2002, Poul Skytte Christoffersen
5. The Danish Presidency - Conclusion of the negotiations, Poul Skytte Christoffersen
6. Financing the enlargement, George Vassiliou & Poul Skytte Christoffersen
7. The Public's attitude to enlargement, George Vassiliou
PART II - THE TEN COUNTRIES STORY
8. Cyprus, George Vassiliou
9. The Czech Republic, Pavel Telicka
10. Estonia, Alar Streimann
11. Hungary, Peter Gottfried & Peter Gyorkos
12. Latvia, Andris Kesteris
13. Lithuania, Petras Austrevicius
14. Malta, Richard Cachia Caruana
15. Poland, Jan Kulakowski & Leszek Jesien
16. Slovakia, Jan Figel Miroslav Adamis
17. Slovinia, Janez Potocnik, Fedor Cerne & Emil Erjavec in Mojmir Mrak

The Accession Story

The EU from 15 to 25 Countries

Edited by George Vassiliou

Author Information

George Vassiliou was elected President of the Republic of Cyprus in 1988 for a five-year term.
During this period he worked hard to achieve a solution of the Cyprus problem and improved the functioning of the public sector. As a result of several reforms, the economy improved substantially, the GDP per capita nearly doubled and in 1991 Cyprus was able to apply for membership of the E.U. In 1992 it became possible to link the Cyprus pound to the ECU.
One of his major achievements during this period was the establishment of the University of Cyprus.

Contributors:

Gunther Verheugen is Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry
Eneko Landaburu, Director General, DG External Relations
Poul Skytte Christoffersen, Professor, Copenhagen Business School
George Vassiliou, President of the Republic of Cyprus 1988-1993 and Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Cyprus to the EU
Pavel Telicka, Co-Founder and President of BXL Consultants, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Czech Republic to the EU
Karel Bartak, Head of CTK Brussels office from 1995, focusing on NATO and EU enlargement. Official in the European Commission since summer 2006.
Alar Streimann, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Estonia to the EU, Permanent Representative of Estonia to the Council of Europe
Peter Gottfried, President of the Office for European Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office
Peter Gyorkos, Vice President of the Office for European Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office
Andris Kesteris, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Latvia to the EU, Head of Cabinet of Commissioner for Energy
Kristine Plamse, Memeber of Cabinet at Cabinet of Commissioner for Energy
Petras Austrevicius, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Lithuania to the EU, Member of National Parliament
Richard Cachia Caruana, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Malta to the EU
Jan Kulakowski, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of Poland to the EU, Member of the European Parliament
Leszek Jesien, Secretary of State for International and EU Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office. Chair of European Integration at the Tischner European University, Poland
Jan Figel', Cheif Negotiator for the accession of the Slovak Republic to the EU, Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Mulitlingualism
Miroslav Adamis, Head of the Cabinet of Commissioner Jan Figel'
Janez Potocnik, Cheif Negotiator for the accession of the Republic of Slovenia to the EU, Commissioner for Science and Research
Fedor Cerne, Official of the for Goverment for European Affairs
Emil Erjavec, Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mojmir Mrak, Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

The Accession Story

The EU from 15 to 25 Countries

Edited by George Vassiliou

Reviews and Awards

"A detailed, engaging picture of the fifth enlargement from the perspective of both Brussels and the ten new member states... Given the political history of the new members, their perspective not only reveals the complexity of the enlargement processes, but also the country-specific obstacles and personal frustrations the negotiators had to deal with and overcome...Highly recommended."--CHOICE