ABSTRACT
Since its founding as the European Economic Community in 1957, the history of the European project has been one of both steadily deepening levels of integration and steadily expanding membership. From an original six members in 1957, the 2004 enlargement brought the number of members to 25, with Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia joining subsequently. While all the enlargements have raised important issues, the 2004 enlargement was particularly significant. This was because, although debates about the Union’s continuing ability to take on new members have always been aired, the 2004 enlargement process resulted in a definitive policy stance that future enlargements would be few and far between. With an unprecedented ten new members to be integrated, it was argued that the Union’s borders needed to be delimited once and for all if the European Union (EU) was to have any hope of preserving its democratic legitimacy and of remaining bureaucratically functional. Thus, in 2003, the European Commission issued a communication on the ‘Wider Europe Neighbourhood’ calling for ‘A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours’ (Commission of the European Communities 2003). By 2004, the Wider Europe initiative had transformed into the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
