Shaping the Union

摘要

The European Union has a knack of making even the most historic changes sound deadly dull. When the political leaders of the 15 EU countries assemble in Nice in southern France on December 7th, a literal reading of their agenda would not set many pulses racing. The over-arching aim of the negotiations is to prepare the ground to let as many as 13 new members into the Union, most of them from Central Europe. No new countries will actually be admitted to the club in Nice. The impression that this is essentially a technical, preparatory meeting is heightened by the characteristically yawn-inducing jargon the EU is using to describe the four main questions at issue (see our "menu").