The Benefits and Limitations of European Union Membership as a Security Mechanism

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the post-1945 ‘pax Sovietica’ led

not to the ‘end of history’, but rather to an ‘awakening of history’. The wider Europe

that emerged in 1989 is facing changing security concerns, which affect both the new

democracies and the European Union. Internal security has become increasingly important

and has been affected by external security concerns. In particular, threats other

than military ones have emerged, leading to the rethinking of the institutional framework

entrusted with the safeguarding of security in Europe. EU membership appears to

be an effective tool for ensuring European security. This paper highlights the new internal

and external political and economic security concerns in transition economies in

order to evaluate the benefits and limitations of EU enlargement as a way of addressing

these changing security concerns. Several countries, particularly Poland and Romania,

are used to exemplify the EU’s role in enhancing security in the applicant countries. The

article concludes with policy recommendations for dealing with the limitations of EU

membership, and for using the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as a tool for

ensuring security beyond the EU enlargement.