7
capital, which states such as Poland lack. German investors stand to reap rich rewards in
the rapidly-modernizing candidate states.
Third, a key factor in many inter-EU divisions is simply the size of the member
states. As was the case in the U.S. at the time of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the
smaller EU states tend to fear that they will be outvoted and will gradually lose their
sovereignty to a central government controlled by the larger states. Germany, in contrast,
is unlikely to be outvoted and disregarded. It is, after all, the largest EU member
(especially when its traditional close alliance with France is considered). How is this size
division related to the expansion issue? It has been clear for some time that expansion
will mean a tightening (euphemistically called a ‘reform’) of the EU governmental
structure. A Europe of 25 states (27, if Romania and Bulgaria join in 2007, as planned)
cannot be governed as the old 15-member EU has been. It was long accepted that each
EU member would have veto power over all important decisions. Similarly, each
member was given a rotating six month term as President of the EU Council of Ministers,
and each was allowed to name one member of the EU Commission. All of these ‘sacred
cows of sovereignty’ are in jeopardy as the EU drafts its first Constitution.
13
Thus, the
rush to ‘widen’ the EU has been firmly linked to a ‘deepening’ of the Union—fulfilling
two prime goals of Germany. ‘Euroskeptic’ members of the Union—notably the
British—had been early advocates of expansion, believing that including a multitude of
new voices would make a powerful, centralized EU impossible.
14
That view now seems
questionable.
13
Thus, not surprisingly, many small states are leery of the draft constitution. See Bruni, Frank, 2003,
With a Constitution to Ponder, Europeans Gather in Greece, The New York Times, 20 June.
14
See, for example, Thatcher, Margaret, 1993. The Downing Street Years, 1979-1990. New York:
HarperCollins, 769-70. Thatcher writes: “having [East European] states…lining up at potential EC
Convention