KARACHI, May 21: The effects of European Union’s enlargement on the dynamics of international political and economic order was deliberated upon at a seminar organized by the Area Study Centre for Europe, University of Karachi, on Tuesday.
The seminar was organized under the EU-sponsored Jean Monnet Project on Eastward and Southward Enlargement of the European Union, Problems and Prospects.
Prof. Dr. Syed Imdad Shah, Associate Professor, ASCE, presented a paper titled “challenges of EU’s proposed eastward and southward enlargement”.
Dr. Shah highlighted the international environment which led to the democratization of Eastern Europe from 1989 onwards. He said the aspirants for EU membership (from the South and the East) hoped to derive economic, political and security benefits from this association.
He also discussed the likely effects on the EU of granting admission to these states, which were relatively backward and were still struggling to establish democracy, the rule of law and good governance.
Dr. Seema Makhdoomi, an economist and visiting faculty member at the ASCE, presented a paper on “The Impact of EU Enlargement on its External Policy Agenda: Implications for Developing Countries”.
Dr. Makhdoomi opined that the imminent EU enlargement with an expanding policy agenda is affected by the dynamics of the international system.
In her paper, she focussed on the EU in the international trading system and the issues related to the developing countries.
The enlarged EU, along with globalisation and liberalisation under WTO, provides opportunities and challenges for the developing countries. Whether they would be able to compete in the single enlarged EU market, partly depends on their economic policies.
Most of the LDCs have concentrated in their recent economic strategy on export-led growth through exchange rate policy and liberalisation of trade to improve price competitiveness under the structural adjustment programme. However, a focus on supply side factors related to technology absorption through research and development, human resource development and the development of managerial capability for the enhancement of productivity, is vital to produce higher value-added products and compete successfully in a more competitive single EU market.
Dr. Jaffar Ahmad in his paper “Differing positions of the major countries of the European Union on the Issue of Enlargement”, looked into the issue of enlargement of the EU in its historical setting.
He also compared the previous enlargements and the subsequent implications for the EU.
Drawing conclusions from it, he referred to the ongoing debate on the impending enlargement and the differing perceptions of the major countries of the EU.
Dr. Naveed Ahmad Tahir in her introductory speech described in some detail the EU’s enlargement process, specially the Copenhagen criteria, the pre-accession strategy and the accession negotiations.
Mr. M. H. Askari, a prominent journalist, offered comments on the papers; followed by a question-answer session.