ABSTRACT

Although the European Union enlarged its territorial influence area dramatically in the aftermath of enlargement rounds, the increased number of Member States inhibits the cohesion of economics and finance policies and particularly compromises and synchronization in the area of international politics which have to be attained. This is considered as the reason of mostly pessimistic expectations upon the existential future of the EU. Nevertheless, the enlargement policy of the EU is one of the most important instruments of “soft power” of the Union. The increasing number of countries sharing the values of the Union contributes considerably to the regional and international peace and prosperity. The effect of normative or transformative power of the Union is obvious in the Middle and Eastern European Countries and West Balkan and Turkey as well. The impact area of EU is bigger than the area identified geographically. However, it is also obvious that EU cannot proceed like this. The model of “Multi Speed Europe”, with which the functioning of institutions would be more effective, aims the country-based achievement of monolithic or homogeneous integration delayed or at different times. Thus the concerns about the political and economic future of the Union would diminish. The enlargement would be no more the justification of failure of deepening the integration and by this way acceptance of new members to the Union would be imaginable.