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6.2.3 Enlargement (Widening)
The end of the Cold War, symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall, meant that
the European Union had to radically rethink its prospects for further enlargement. The
EU started to provide technical and financial assistance to the former Eastern Bloc
countries almost immediately. The Europe Agreements, the first ones of which were
signed with Poland and Hungary in late 1991, provided the basis for political, legal and
trade-related issues as well as and other areas of cooperation, including environment and
transport. Since then, Eastern enlargement has been a three track process, consisting of
1) the pre-accession strategy focusing on reform in the ten candidate countries, 2) the
preparation of Agenda 2000 and the opening of actual accession negotiations (with the
first five in 1998, with the rest in 2000), and 3) the publication of the Communication
Strategy for Enlargement in May 2000. The EU is well aware that further enlargement
will mean adjustments to the current EU structure of governance:
Enlargement was originally the term used to refer to the four successive waves of new
members joining the Community. […] With the growing number of applicants for
membership … , the concept of enlargement has taken on a very special significance.
[…] To ensure that enlargement does not hinder European integration, any further
accessions must be accompanied by reform of the institutions and of some Union
policies.
(Commission of the European Communities 1999a).
The much lower infrastructure endowment of the candidate countries has led to
the institution of the so-called pre-accession funds. Much of the focus in the transport
sector is not only about expanding infrastructure, but also about harmonizing regulations
and bringing existing networks up to EU standards. Overall, the rhetoric at both the
7 Although the European Investment Bank (EIB) had of course already provided many millions of transport
infrastructure loans aimed at promoting European integration.