Power, Justice, and National Culture in an Expanding European Union: An Unjust Dilemma for Potential Member States
Marc Woons
Power, Justice, and National Culture in an Expanding European Union: An Unjust Dilemma for Potential Member StatesThe ever-expanding European Union (EU) presents the potential member states (PMs) with a difficult choice: adopt its values to join the EU or miss out on the benefits that come with the membership. From the perspective of the EU, a state’s decision to join depends on the democratic and voluntary will of its people. However, from the perspective of potential member states, the EU’s “take-it-or-leave-it” attitude might be seen as the root of an unjust dilemma. On the one hand, joining the EU promotes increased wealth and redistribution, particularly in the case of less-developed eastern states. On the other hand, joining demands the future member states to sacrifice certain aspects of their culture. This dilemma largely rests on the EU’s unwillingness to fairly negotiate with PMs. In practice, member states must often weigh socio-economic benefits against the loss of the state’s national culture(s). While Norway, celand, and Switzerland are strong enough economically to avoid this dilemma, less powerful PMs face a tougher choice. This paper primarily aims to explain the nature and extent of the dilemma within Europe. This is followed by a discussion of three normative positions one can take on the matter, namely accept, compensate for, or minimize the dilemma. It is suggested that while the EU enlargement has so far largely combined the first two approaches, there may be benefits to minimizing the dilemma.
