the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them;
	the Council of the European Union, which represents the individual member states;
	The European Commission, which seeks to uphold the interests of the Union as a whole.

	The European Council
	This means the heads of state and government (i.e. presidents and/or prime ministers) of all the EU countries, plus the President of the European Commission.  The European Council meets, in principle, four times a year to agree overall EU policy and to review progress.  It is the highest-level policy-making body in the European Union, which is why its meetings are often called “summits”.
	The Council of the European Union
	Formerly known as the Council of Ministers, this institution consists of government ministers from all the EU countries. The Council meets regularly to take detailed decisions and to pass European laws.  A fuller description of its work is given later in this booklet.
	The Council of Europe
	This is not an EU institution at all.  It is an intergovernmental organisation which aims amongst other things) to protect human rights, to promote Europe’s cultural diversity and to combat social problems such as racial prejudice and intolerance. It was set up in 1949 and one of its early achievements was to draw up the European Convention on Human Rights. To enable citizens to exercise their rights under that Convention it set up the European Court of Human Rights.  The Council of Europe now has 44 member states, including the 15 European Union countries, and its headquarters is the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg (France).

		So, why participate:
			Realist position: reason for entry (and EU’s existence): (economic) interest;
			Idealist position: reason for entry: restoration of “Europe,” and the introduction/expansion of the zone of peace and security.
		Cultural/civilizational issues:
			There is no evidence that a partial transfer of sovereignty to the European governing bodies threatens national cultures/identities. A pan-European cosmopolitan culture co-exists with vibrant national cultures;
			Cultural patterns in applicant states are closer to the patters shown by the original six EEC members than is the case for later entrants (e.g., Spain, Portugal or Greece).

		What is the “proper” institutional location of democracy?
			nation-state;
			sub-national units (local democracy);
			supra-national (global? continental?) platform.
		How is “the will of the people” transformed into a coherent set of policy decisions? Through what institutional channels?
			Legislature versus executive (in EU: co-decision between the parliament and the Council);
			Participatory inclusion versus efficiency:
				“democratic deficit” – the Commission too powerful (commitology).

		Problem: less sovereignty, but more security (participation in EU enhances the NATO shield)
		External anchoring of the rule of law (clear improvement):
			recourse to higher (European) courts;
			higher judiciary standards (less corruption)
		More efficient regulation of the economy (for example, fewer bailouts). European oversight institutions are crucial for enforcing accountability in the candidate countries.
		National identity:
			the rhetoric of enlargement can be demeaning (“backward cousins from the East”);
			value surveys (unexpected proximity of the East and the West).

	Institutional assistance (Common Agricultural Policy, restructuring funds): net gain in inflows;
	FDI (private): development (necessary investment) versus exploitation (semi- colonial status): net gain or loss for EE? (one assessment: 23-50 billion euro)
	Pre-accession restructuring has a positive effect in those countries that have solid internal reform strategies in place;
	Fear of ending up as a “periphery” of Europe: EU-15 exports only 2% worth of its GDP to CEEC: CEES export 25% of their GDP to EU – 15.
	The new members combined GDP – 5% of the EU’s GDP

		Constituency: “national” or “ideological”
		Political mobilization for and against the enlargement begins to influence the political field; new divisions appear (do not correlate with the left-right division).

		Strengthening through external assistance, but also the problem of “ngoization” (NGOs built on Western funds, not rooted in local conditions, and disappearing when the external funding runs out);
		Access to transnational networks is uneven and politicized.

		Political loyalty: to primary (family, clan) or secondary (associations, clubs) groups.