The Baltic States and the European Union : on the road to membership

Abstract

In recent years, the relationships of the three Baltic states with the European Union have intensified through a variety of agreements aimed at further developing economic and political relations, and ultimately, integration with the European Union.The most important agreements to date have been the Agreements on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation, the Free Trade Agreement, and more recently, Association Agreements (also known as Europe Agreements). Through these, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have asserted their intentions to become fully integrated with Europe. Compared to current EU members, however, the economic, political and social structures of the Baltics are still in transition.To help them as well as other "Central and Eastern European Countries" or "CEECs" in their preparation for membership, the EU has issued a White Paper on approximation of laws, established the Phare expertise-assistance programme, and given at least some preliminary indications as to the conditions for entry. The Baltics are presently focused on the outcome of the EU's Intergovernmental Conference.By 1998, the IGC must decide on the scope of eastern enlargement and, in particular, designate when and under what terms the Baltics are to be admitted to the EU. The European Union's unwillingness to specify conditions and dates for possible membership has become a matter of contention as the Baltic states have continuously insisted on exact dates for their admission.Further, the EU still prefers to deal with the Baltics as a single entity, while the Baltics themselves wish to be treated individually on their own merits.Quite evidently the matter will continue to hang in the air until the EU has reviewed the consequences of eastern enlargement and taken decisions on special admission criteria. Keywords: Baltic countries, enlargement, EU, integration