EU Meets To Discuss Expanded Membership, Raising Thorny Issues of Cyprus and Turkey; New Date Scheduled For Event

12/4/2002

From: Brookings Office of Communications, 202-797-6105 or communications@brookings.edu

News Advisory:

-- EVENT POSTPONEMENT ALERT -- Please note that the following Brookings briefing on the European Union has been postponed due to expected wintry weather for tomorrow. This briefing has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 2:00 PM.

A Brookings Briefing:

When: Tuesday, December 10 (THE RESCHEDULED DATE) 9:30 a.m. -- 11:00 a.m.

Where: Falk Auditorium The Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, D.C.

Panelists:

IVO H. DAALDER Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution

PHILIP H. GORDON Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, and Director, Center on the United States and France, The Brookings Institution

NATHALIE TOCCI Research Fellow, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels

JAMES B. STEINBERG (Moderator) Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution

The leaders of the European Union (EU) meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 12 and 13 to announce a historic enlargement of the organization, adding ten new central and eastern European nations with a combined population of 75 million people, the organization's largest expansion ever. This move represents a further step toward consolidation of European stability, democracy, and peace, but also presents enormous challenges and raises questions about the future of the Union.

One of the most critical issues for EU leaders will be how to handle the delicate issues of membership for Cyprus and relations with Turkey. Since Nov. 11, Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders have been considering a UN-proposed plan for a political settlement of their longstanding dispute, but many issues remain unresolved. If a settlement is not reached by the time of the summit, the EU is likely to invite Cyprus to join anyway, effectively meaning exclusion of the Turkish Cypriot north and incorporation of the Greece-Turkey dispute into the EU.

Turkey, meanwhile, is hoping to obtain a date for beginning its own EU accession negotiations, the prospect of which may, itself, be dependent on the critical Cyprus talks. Whereas a successful Cyprus deal and agreement on Turkey-EU relations could resolve one of the EU's thorniest problems and lead to unprecedented cooperation in the region, a failure on these fronts could undermine the new Turkish government and lead to instability at a critical time.

The panelists will discuss these and other difficult issues facing the upcoming EU meeting and answer questions from the audience.

RSVP: Please contact the Brookings Office of Communications by calling 202-797-6105, e-mailing to communications@brookings.edu, or visiting us online at http://www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20021205.htm.