Reformbedarf in der Europäischen Union bei einer Osterweiterung
Authors: Franzmeyer Fritz , Welfens Paul J.J. , Stehn Jürgen 
Published: May 2016

This economic policy forum is assigned to the reform requirements within the European Union along the enlargement of the EU concerning the eastern European countries. In his article, Fritz Franzmeyer identifies to European policy areas that are due to reform in the course of the enlargement concerning the Eastern European countries. First, institutional arrangements, especially voting procedures in the European Council as well as the organisation of the EU-Commission and the European Parliament have to be reformed. He argues that without a reform the European institutions nearly become unable to work properly. Second, the financial perspective of the EU is subject to scrutiny. Both CAP and structural funds will be unsustainable with 20 European Union members, given that the new members will be the poorest and, therefore, will become recipients of a large sum. As a consequence, Franzmeyer advocates reforms of CAP and structural policy that go beyond the small reform steps taken with the Agenda 2000.

Paul Welfens analyses problems and chances connected to an enlargement of the European Union for the EU-15 countries as well as for the aspirant countries. Welfens focuses on four steps of the EU-enlargement: the institutional integration, the economic integration, the integration of the economic policy, and additional strategies towards the EU-outsiders. On the one hand, he shows that the enlargement of the European Union is probably connected with the advantages for the present EU-countries but also for the new members of the European Union. Especially, it can be expected that the position of the European Union in the competitive world market will improve. On the other hand, Welfens stresses that the second round of the enlargement will create the voting majority of small and poor countries. Welfens warns that the consequence will probably be a shift of the economic policy towards increased distributional activities of the European Union. The latter will have negative consequences for the employment and the economic growth. The enlargement brings the European Union closer to Russia. Consequently, the European Union should develop a greater self-interest in the stability of Russia. In addition, Welfens points out that a reform of the EU-constitution and a new EU-budget policy as well as a new EU-growth policy is indispensable in the medium run. Yet, a far-sighted treatment of the problems connected to the agricultural sector of the East European countries is equally important.

Jiirgen Stehn stresses that an enlargement of the EU is inevitably connected to reforms concerning the CAP, the structural and cohesion policy as well as reforms of the decision mechanisms. On the one hand, Stehn points out that the reduction of subsidies in form of guaranteed prices as well as the reduction of compensation payments is required. On the other hand, he remarks that the agenda 2000 gives at hand instruments for income redistribution and structure preserving ones. Stehn identifies the principal problem of the structure and cohesion fonds as the capital allocation within the EU. In fact, the fonds initially aiming at developing the economic power of regions are used as the redistributional instrument. For this reason, he suggests that the structure and cohesion fonds should be reorganised so that they form a system of financial compensation between the European Union members. Finally, Stehn emphasises that the reform of the decision mechanisms is indispensable as the EU becomes larger.