The dual enlargement of the European Union and NATO in 2004 projected stability far across the European continent. This process will continue with the pending accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU, and with a real perspective of EU membership now given to Turkey is negotiating its candidacy with the EU, and the Rose Revolution in Georgia and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine have opened new opportunities to advance freedom and democracy across an even wider swath of the European continent. Unfortunately, this dynamic region faces a West that is distracted, divided, complacent, or uncertain as to why it should engage as an active partner for change. Many Western leaders have issued rhetorical support for a Wider Europe that is more democratic, more secure, and more of a partner for the West. But the concept remains relatively undefined, its mechanisms undeveloped, and support for it uncertain. Many have yet to decide whether Western engagement should be foremost about mollifying non-members or advancing a truly transformative approach to the region that would align – and eventually integrate – these nations into the European and Euro-Atlantic community. What is the future of “Wider Europe?” CTR is engaged in various activities: - Current Analysis: CTR offers analyses on the situation in wider Europe here.
- Friends of Belarus: The Belarussian people live under a dictatorship. What are the prospects for change in Belarus? CTR offers ongoing analysis here.
- The EPINE Think Tank Network: CTR and a network of US-Nordic-Baltic think tanks meet and exchange views regularly on issues affecting wider Europe. The network meets twice a year with the Political Directors of U.S., Nordic-Baltic foreign ministries to exchange views and analysis under the framework of the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (EPINE). CTR hosts Washington meetings of the network. Papers from this series are available here.
- CTR/OIIP project on Wider Europe: With support from the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, the Center is working with the Austrian Institute for International Politics to sponsor two distinct yet related study projects. The first study group focuses on Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The second will focus on the South Caucasus/Black Sea countries. Each project consists of a study group of 12 authors drawn equally from the United States, the European Union, and the nations of Wider Europe. Each project also seeks Russian perspectives. Each group is analyzing the particular region’s development and prospects for relations with the transatlantic community, by comparing and contrasting differing perspectives within the EU, among the countries concerned, and from the United States. A conference on Ukraine was held in Kyiv in October 2006.
- The New Frontiers of Europe, edited by CTR Director Dan Hamilton, examines the consequences of enlargement for wider Europe, with 17 contributions, including Yegor Gaidar, Jean-Claude Trichet, Therese Delpech, Michael Emerson, and Jorge Sampaio.
- The Strategic Implications of European Union Enlargement, edited by CTR Deputy Director Esther Brimmer and Stefan Fröhlich. 20 authors from Europe and North America consider the impact of EU enlargement on its international role, on specific regions, and on a range of global issues.
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