EU industrial policy : a comparative analysis of the impact on enlargement on three new acceding countries

Abstract

This dissertation aims to show the impact of enlargement on the industrial policies of the new accession states, and for this analysis I have chosen to focus on three of the new accession countries: Malta, Hungary and Slovenia, which differ in their industrial structures and economic characteristics. This analysis will be undertaken by looking at the policies and strategies adopted by these three accession states in their aim to achieve the goals of the European Charter for Small Enterprises. The European Union (EU) had recognised the importance of small enterprises in Europe with the adoption by the General Affairs Council of the European Charter for Small Enterprises, in Lisbon on the 13th June 2000, and the approval of this Charter at the Feira European Council, held on the 19th and 20th June of the same year. It was not until April 2002 at Maribor in Slovenia that the then candidate countries for accession had joined this initiative. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main source of economic growth and job creation in Europe, and since 2001, the Commission had stepped up a dialogue with the then candidate countries in order to help them improve the environment in which enterprises start up, operate and grow, and to align their policies with those of the EU. This dialogue had gone beyond the formal obligation to adopt the Acquis Communautaire, and helped to include the candidate countries in the European socio-economic strategy. Competitiveness is at the heart of the goals which were set for the European Community at the Lisbon meeting of the European Council in 2000. Achieving the goals set depends on the ability of the EU to maintain and develop the competitiveness of its manufacturing industry. Industry's interdependence with services cannot be ignored and the progressive outsourcing of business services has reduced the apparent scale of the manufacturing industry. The vibrancy and dynamism of industry is essential for Europe to be able to sustain and increase its prosperity while meeting its wider social, environmental and international ambitions. Industrial policy has to ensure that other policies contribute to the competitiveness of Europe's industry. Industrial competitiveness depends on policies such as competition, the internal market, research and development (R&D), education, trade and sustainable development. Industrial policy needs a rigorous working method to maximize the dynamic interactions between these policies.