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Weber, Axel A. --- "Changes in the focus of European economic integration" [2005] ELECD 375; in Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris (eds), "European Economic Integration and South-East Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: European Economic Integration and South-East Europe

Editor(s): Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845425173

Section Title: Changes in the focus of European economic integration

Author(s): Weber, Axel A.

Number of pages: 7

Extract:

Changes in the focus of European
economic integration
Axel A. Weber

In the process of European integration, 2004 was undoubtedly one of the
most memorable years. In May 2004 ten new member states joined the
European Union. The eastward enlargement of the EU presents major
political, institutional and economic challenges. Moreover, there is a very
high probability that the process of eastward enlargement has not yet come
to an end.
Does the enlargement of the EU imply a new shift in the focus of eco-
nomic integration in Europe? At this juncture, it is difficult to give a
clear answer to that question. The history of the EU has seen several such
shifts. While in the early years of European integration the focus was on
the goods markets, financial market integration has received more attention
of late.


1. EARLY STEPS TO EUROPEAN ECONOMIC
INTEGRATION

Some fifty years ago, a quite ordinary, yet pressing, cause gave rise to
European economic integration. In the midst of reconstruction efforts,
steelmakers ­ representing the backbone of several European economies ­
were heading for a crisis of overproduction. The danger of competition
being restricted by the re-erection of cartels was looming large, when Robert
Schuman, then French Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed the establish-
ment of a European Coal and Steel Community.1 His proposal not only
aimed at creating a unified market for coal and steel products; it also encom-
passed the bold idea that member states should surrender control over the
coal and steel ...