| Full Text | In an effort to paint a more robust understanding of the future of EU enlargement, this paper explores
EU expansion to Turkey and Ukraine by focusing on policy debates in Hungary as of mid-2005. Drawing
primarily from qualitative analysis of political party and policy documents, the media, and interviews,
the report shows that public opinion in Hungary was moderately supportive of enlargement to
include both Turkey and Ukraine. While the prospect of Turkish membership in the EU was subject to
some discussion among opinion-formers, in general, the issue was not prominent; Ukrainian EU membership,
meanwhile, was seen as a distant possibility and therefore subject to little controversy. Though
two smaller political parties took strong stances either for or against enlargement, two larger parties
were less forthright in their positions. Among political parties, developments on the EU-level appeared
to have an important influence. However, for the general public, the salience of the question of further
enlargement remained low.
|
