25.06.08: Foreign Affairs Committee of the EP stresses absorption capacity - The Diigo Meta page

• 25 Jun 08
  

  Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

  enlargement enlargementpolicy_eu europeanparliament absorption_capacity

  • MEPs in the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday (24 June) approved an enlargement report stressing that the EU's own capacity to absorb new states should be taken into account when considering membership applications in the future.
  • The EU's enlargement strategy should "strike a balance between the Union's geo-strategic interests, the impact of political developments outside its borders, and the Union's integration capacity, including its ability to cope with future internal and external challenges and to realise its political integration project," reads the report prepared by German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok.

  • It also comes in the aftermath of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty in a referendum 10 days ago, which has prompted divisions among EU leaders about the possibilities of continuing with the enlargement process at this stage.

      

    France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, have both declared that EU expansion will have to be halted until the document enters into force, while leaders in other countries – such as Poland – have said the process can continue.

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