Between 1995 and 2007 the EU has almost doubled its membership, from 15 to 27 members, accepting more new member states than ever before within a very short time span.
This rapid expansion has not been preceded by the necessary strengthening of its institutional functioning, in particular its decision making capacity. Since 2004, the EU has [...]

The French Parliament has voted down a constitutional amendment that would have abolished a national referendum on the EU accession of third countries whose population exceeds five percent of total EU population. Both Turkey and Ukraine will therefore have to pass the litmus test of a popular vote in France before being able to [...]