Little attention has been paid to the relationship between enlargement and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union. Discussions about the widening of the EU refer largely to its implications for the Community pillar (the 'first pillar'). However, eastern enlargement also poses important challenges to the CFSP or `second pillar'. Not only does it raise questions about the CFSP's ability to function effectively, but also, by redefining the EU's borders, it promises to introduce new issues and new tasks into the scope of the CFSP. This paper starts out by highlighting different approaches to understanding the CFSP. Secondly, it turns to look at enlargement as a specific form of foreign policy. Thirdly, the paper examines the various issues raised by the prospect of enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe. The final section discusses the implications of enlargement for longer term trends in the development of the CFSP.
The article has later been published in K. Henderson (ed.) (1999) Back to Europe - Central and Eastern Europe and the European Union. London: UCL Press. It is also available as ARENA Reprint 99/13.