ABSTRACT

From the beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community, neo-functionalists raised questions about adopting any simplistic view of either integration or the Council. The continued existence of the Luxembourg Compromise since the signing of the Single European Act has been somewhat problematic. Teasdale somewhat optimistically considered that it had fallen into disuse as part of the move towards further integration since the Genscher-Colombo initiative of 1981. The sheer intensity and density of European interactions as shown in the number of meetings, as well as the range of discussions, have clearly played a vital role in entrenching the integration process. Enlargement has traditionally been regarded as creating the danger of dilution, hence past accessions have usually been accompanied by a further integration. Doubling the membership to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe raises the dilemma in even more acute form.