The EU and the European Neighbourhood Policy

Initially, only six states decided to integrate, but after successive waves of enlargement the present day European Union (EU) has twenty-eight states covering much of Europe’s space. Each enlargement represented an import not only of new states but also of new institutional structures, political and economic preoccupations, as well as political cultures. Each enlargement has also implied new neighbours and these neighbours have again presented the EC/EU with new opportunities and challenges. In this sense, the history of European integration can be described as a continuous process of identity formation prompted by successive waves of enlargement (Piedrafita and Torreblanca 2005; Sedelmeier 2003).