European Union Enlargement:
What are the Agricultural Trade Models Missing?
Padma V. Swaminathan , Thomas W. Hertel , and Martina Brockmeier
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Selected Paper for Presentation at the 1997 AAEA Annual Meeting
July 27-30, 1997, Toronto, ON, Canada
Center for Global Trade Analysis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue
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University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1145, USA.
Institute of Agricultural Economics, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Germany.
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The evolution of the European Union spans many decades - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg,
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and the Netherlands as the six founding members in 1957 were joined by Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom
in 1973, by Greece in 1981, by Portugal and Spain in 1986 (EU-12), and finally by Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995
(EU-15).
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Introduction
In North America, Asia, South America and Europe, international commerce is increasingly
characterized by regional trading arrangements between nations. Examples include the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Canada, and Mexico,
the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) between several East Asian and Pacific countries,
and MERCOSUR in Latin America. The European Union (EU), consisting of fifteen
countries in Western Europe stands out as the largest customs union in the world. The
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European Single market established in 1992 removed all barriers to the movement of goods
and factors in the EU.
The turn of the century may witness a further enlargement of the EU with the proposed
accession of the ten Central and East European Countries (CEECs) to form the EU-25.
Negotiations are underway and Europe Agreements are currently in operation between the
EU and the nine CEECs - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Romania, and Slovak Republic - with Slovenia poised to follow. The eastward
expansion of the EU is extremely topical for Europe watchers, regional integration analysts,
politicians and bureaucrats, besides the citizens of the member na