Enlargement and the European Union’s Absorption Capacity: ‘oft-forgotten’ condition or additional obstacle to membership?

The Austrian government may have failed in its efforts in 2005 to have ‘privileged partnership' inserted into the European Union's framework for accession negotiations with Turkey, but this did not prevent the country's Chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, from claiming that ‘for the first time ever, we have set an extra condition which will yet be very important in the future for Europe, namely the ability of the Union to take in new members'. Indeed, since its inclusion in the framework for negotiations, the EU's ‘capacity to absorb' new members is referred to as a new criterion for further enlargement of the European Union (EU). When opponents of Turkey 's membership, like Schussel, celebrate the emphasis on the EU's ‘absorption capacity', Turks generally regard it as specially-designed extra obstacle to their membership aspirations even if the EU's ‘absorption capacity' is a permanent agenda item whenever the EU discusses enlargement. This article explores the origins of this – supposedly new – condition and argues that the increased emphasis on the EU's ‘absorption capacity' can be explained by the shifts in the dynamics of EU enlargement.

On Cherry-Picking ... or Trying to Have One’s Cake and Eating It: past principles and practice in the pursuit of an alternative to [full] EU membership

With the United Kingdom’s continued membership of the EU being increasingly questioned and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, committed to 're-negotiate’ the terms of membership, consideration is being given to what forms alternatives to [full] membership may take. While much current discussion focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of particular existing arrangements (e.g. European Economic Area, Swiss bilateralism), this paper examines the broader principles and practices that have to date underpinned – and undermined – EU’s attempts to develop alternatives to [full] EU membership. Drawing on an analysis of the evolution of association as an alternative to membership, the paper assesses the principled, practical and political limitations the EU faces – and imposes on itself – in offering an acceptable balance of rights and obligations to states not wishing to assume the mantle of full membership. In its assessment the paper considers various proposed models of affiliate and associate membership. It also situates consideration of the UK case in the broader context of the EU’s relations with other European non-member states for which membership may not be achievable and for which alternatives to membership (e.g. a form of privileged partnership) have been proposed. In doing so, the paper reflects on the precedent-setting consequences of any arrangement that the EU might reach with any state re-negotiating membership or withdrawing.

On the Limits of Exceptionalism: Principles and Practice in the Pursuit of Alternatives to Full EU Membership

Few states have been less uncomfortable with the relationship they have with the EU than the United Kingdom as a member and Turkey as an associate and would-be member. Both states currently find themselves questioning the substance and future of these relationships with domestic actors and, notably in the Turkish case, external EU voices actively advocating alternatives. While much discussion, particularly in the UK case, has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of particular existing arrangements (e.g. European Economic Area, Swiss bilateralism), this paper considers the broader principles and practices that the EU has to date either explicitly developed or implicitly established to govern the nature and substance of alternatives to [full] EU membership. It assesses the principled, practical and political limitations that exist in establishing alternatives to full membership for states seeking – or having sought for them – the accommodation of their exceptionalism. In doing so the paper considers the potential limits to a renegotiated EU membership for the UK and to an alternative short of full membership for Turkey. It also reflects on the precedent-setting consequences of any new arrangements that the EU might reach with either state for what forms membership and a relationship short of membership might take in the future.

The EU Referendum and the UK Environment: An Expert Review:How has EU membership affected the UK and what might change in the event of a vote to Remain or Leave

This expert review provides a detailed review of the academic evidence on how EU membership has influenced UK policies, systems of decision making and environmental quality. Containing 14 chapters and over 60,000 words, it documents how the EU has affected UK environmental policy and how, in turn, the UK has worked through the EU to shape wider, international thinking. It has been authored by 14 international experts, who have drawn on the findings of over 700 publications to offer an impartial and authoritative assessment of the evidence.