The title of the opening lecture of the Fortis Bank Chair 20002001 by Philippe Maystadt summarises very well the content of this series of lectures on Current D... » 

The title of the opening lecture of the Fortis Bank Chair 20002001 by Philippe Maystadt summarises very well the content of this series of lectures on Current Developments in European Integration. The quasi certain accession in the near future of then central European Countries Malta and Cyprus to the European Union offers a lot of opportunities both for the acceding countries and for the Union and its present Member States. At the same time the accession process challenges the existing institutional and economic order of the Community.The preaccession negotiation process is a very technical but also a very political exercise. The process is complicated by differences in size and economic development of the candidate countries. The key issue is the capability of the candidates to implement the acquis communautaire the gigantic body of EU law.The negotiations are conducted according to chapters. Some of the important and sometimes sensitive chapters are discussed in the present book. The authors are renowned scholars in the field of law economics or political science. «