The Political Economy of Eastern Enlargement

Enlargement is affecting personal interests of politicians and lobbyists in many ways. This view is shown to be indispensable to a full understanding of many decisions that have been taken in regard to the Treaty of Nice, the Convention set up in Laeken, the emerging results of the accession negotiations and the choice of first wave countries. This view is also helpful to assess the long-run impact of enlargement on EU policies. The accession of 12 new countries to the EU will bring about new political-economic equilibria, as argued here for the case of the Common Agricultural Policy