European Public Opinion and Enlargement

A series of conferences on the enlargement of the EU to the Balkan countries was organised on 28th and 29th April at the Jean Monnet Maison at Bazoches sur Guyonne then at Sciences Po. Pierre Lequiller inaugurated the debate at the Jean Monnet House recalling the Balkan countries' vocation to enter the EU whilst indicating that the process would necessarily be a long one so that these countries could meet the convergence criteria satisfactorily. Robert Schuman Foundation Chairman Jean-Dominique Giuliani gave an analysis of European public opinion on enlargement at Sciences Po insisting on their increasing scepticism and by providing an overview of opinion Europe wide. Gaëlle Pério, journalist, who recently wrote a European Issue for the Foundation pointed to the Balkans' exasperation which might ("EU-Western Balkans Relations: the European Bermuda Triangle?", European Issue 195, 21.02.2011), if the integration process becomes tougher, could reject the European model; he reminded the audience on this occasion of the urgency of involving the Balkans in the decision making process, of taking into account the history of these people and of acknowledging the work achieved by the latter.