With Belgian presidency, first EU enlargement in history (amid crisis and second thoughts)

Brussels – Belgium as a synonym of enlargement, not such a long shot. Certainly an improper connection—even considering that the kingdom, at its thirteenth presidency of the EU Council, is among the founding states of the European Union—but that in the history of the integration project and its historical stages finds a moment in which the expansion of the common project coincides with the management of the work entrusted to the Brussels government. It is January 1, 1973, and Belgium assumes the presidency of the EU Council for the sixth time, coinciding with the accession of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom to the then European Economic Community (EEC),  which grows from six to nine member states.

The one of 1973 is the first of seven (so far) moments in which the number of EU member states increased. It is thus a historical and symbolic moment of enlargement that has also been followed by the transformation of the integration project. The new Belgian presidency just starting—it will last until June 30, 2024—brings with it a curiosity that is something more than a mere peculiarity: when it comes to the European Union and rotating presidencies, it is with a Belgian presidency that the first enlargement of the European family becomes effective. The curiosity, if anything, is due to the government crisis that swept Belgium and its presidency. When Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined the EEC, the head of the Belgian executive was Gaston Eyskens, but from January 26, 1973, the country, engulfed in the meantime by internal affairs, was led by Edmond Leburton. The Eyskens government resigned in the wake of the “Fourons crisis“, French-speaking towns transformed into Flemish municipalities from an administrative point of view having decided their transfer from the Walloon region of Liège to the Flemish region of Limburg—an all-Belgian logic causing the crisis at the time of the first EU enlargement. Another story of History, also made up of counter-enlargements.

One part of Denmark, Greenland, backed out and exited the European Economic Community in 1983, just ten years after entry. Then was the turn of the United Kingdom, exiting in 2020 following the 2016 referendum that saw the 12-star membership being rejected. By contrast, Ireland’s path was different, Euro-convinced, and the only one among these three countries involved in the first enlargement and subsequent “shrinkage” to have adopted the single currency.