The European Union and post-communist Europe: One approach or several?

Abstract

Many believe that the European Union, even if it has not caused a new division of Europe, has been complicit in the creation of such a division by virtue of different strategies towards alternative groups of post-communist countries. However, have the 'Europeanization' prospects of 'left-out' countries in fact already been predetermined by the alternative strategies of the EU. A number of key questions arise in this context. Is 'inclusion' really dependent on whether the EU has given a membership promise? How true is it actually to speak of alternative EU strategies towards post-communist countries? Is a different perspective on the issue of inclusion or exclusion possible if we concentrate on the European integration process rather than regarding EU membership per se as the key to whether the future trajectory of Europe is continuation of division or end of it? Finally, what role are sub-regional co-operation processes playing in the Europeanization of so-called 'left-out countries'?