In the beginning of 2004 many of the old member states were nervous about the enlargement of the EU with 10 new poor countries and two years later with two even poorer ones. Also many Eurocrats did not appreciate the political decision for this ‘big bang’; they missed a promotion because positions had to be vacant for new colleagues from the new member states. To organise enough of these new colleagues the standards for the ‘concourse’, the normally tough examination to get a job as a Eurocrat, were ‘’adapted’.
In every one of the ten central and east old-communist European countries that joined the EU reforms have halted since their entrance and freedom of the press is worse then before. Anti-corruption drives in the three Baltic States have stalled; Slovakia new media law is a straight mockery. Bulgaria’s interior minister has been forced to resign after the 120th in a string of unsolved contract killings and admitting being in contact with crime bosses; in Romania the bravely reforming justice minister was dumped because ‘she was not a team player’. The former Polish government blocked a European Day against the death penalty.
Olli Rehn, the Finnish Commissioner responsible for Enlargement, concedes that ‘after a country has won a seat on the table in the Berlaymont (the main building of the commission), it is much harder to put pressure to it’. A good example is Slovenia, in charge of the EU Presidency in the first half of 2008, accused by the European Federation of Journalists and other journalist’s organisations for ignoring the freedom of the press: but it is not an item for the ladies and gentlemen in the commission.
The European Commission changed. The old concept was that the commission was taking a long view in European interest, rising above national interests. But that does not function anymore, ‘because new member states don’t understand. Their commissioners are shameless about defending their national positions’, a veteran commission employee stated.
There are still no negotiations on a new agreement with Russia. First we had the Polish problem on meat exports to Russia (not that strange as you know that the EU-standards were ‘eased’ for Polish slaughterhouses by the commission), after that there was a Lithuanian problem with energy and the Estonian government deciding to demolish a memorial for Russian soldiers fallen in WW2 (when Estonia choose for ‘the other side’). In the meantime EU-Russia relations are frozen and blocked by national and often emotional interests.
The new EU treaty (the reform treaty or so-called Lisbon treaty) offers sanctions for suspension of a country’s EU membership rights by a majority of members. It also contains the possibility for a country to leave the EU, although the EU still can’t throw a member out. But who believes that these treaty articles will be used?
Anyhow, the main question still is, will there be a new EU treaty at the end of this year. The Irish public has to decide about that, with a referendum on June 12. Recently European Commission President Barroso visited the Irish Republic, after that the opinion polls showed an increasing support for a NO against the treaty…
