The Eastern Enlargement and the future of the EU25

The section deals with two basic issues, first how the European integration influences the new member states and accession countries, and second, what is the impact of Eastern Enlargement on the functioning, policies and actors of the EU25. Its aim is to discover the new dimensions of Europeanisation, which is the basic concept of the session. The section covers a wide range of issues in a systematic way. It plans ten panels, five panels will be organized by each convenor. The panels will focus on the following topics: the European Parliament, the national parliaments of member states, the political actors (parties), the social actors (interest organizations) and Western perceptions of the Eastern Enlargement on one side, and on the relationships of smaller and bigger states, the Lisbon Agenda, the territorial actors (regional organizations), the cohesion policy of the EU and the Central European perceptions of Enlargement on the other. The section will try to have a balanced representation from the old and new member states as far as both the Chairs of panels and the paper-givers are concerned.