Romanian Journal of European Affairs (Apr 2007)
A STRAINED EUROPEAN MODEL. IS EASTERN ENLARGEMENT TO BLAME?
Abstract
As anticipated, the recent enlargement has put considerable pressure on the European construction, as most of the EU15 member countries are economically and socially strained and policy-makers have a very hard time in devising proper answers to society’s ills. The paper examines various factors which have strained the European Social Model and which, arguably, make this period of Euro-pessimism quite peculiar. It looks at the race for competitiveness in today’s world and the economic rise of Asia; it looks at some inner dynamics in the European societies (demographics, the crisis of the welfare state, a sort of decadence) and it tries to explore what lies ahead, including policy options. An underlying thesis herein is that eastern enlargement is not the culprit for the current pains of the EU member countries, though it may have accentuated some.