In 2004 the EU expanded with 10 new member states. This assignment is meant to give a general overview of the history of the eastern enlargement – asking the question – how did the enlargement develop? The assignment will go into two of the important theoretical schools of regional integration theory – namely neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. When looking at the fact that the enlargement was one of the biggest things in the integration process of the EU – what are these two theories’ approaches to that? Then the assignment will switch focus and look at the businesses in the old member states – hereby meaning the 15 member states before 2004. What are the opportunities and threats for these businesses with 10 new countries entering the internal market of the EU? This will also be a general discussion and thereby limiting it to not being a case study and focus only on the businesses in the old countries not the business opportunities and threats for the new member states. This means that we will not go into the complexity and discussion of farm subsidies, specific sector and firm analysis or the economic transactions from the EU to the new countries etc. Thus this is a general but hopefully fulfilling overview of the enlargement of the EU in 2004 which changed the landscape of the European Union.
Historical context of the eastern enlargement
On the 1st of May 2004 the EU went from consisting of 15 member states to expand to 25 with the new member states Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania, , Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Hungary. The enlargement cess within the EU and between the EU institutions.
In the Rome-treaty of 1957 (beginning operation in 1958) the European Community is “Determined to lay the foun ...