i. introduction


since the creation of the european union its purpose has been to unite the european continent into one cohesive organization. in order for this goal to be fully realized all european nations must be included under this conglomeration of states. unfortunately the process is not quite so simple. it takes years of careful evaluation of numerous factors most importantly including economic status, respect for international law and basic human rights, and military status amongst other numerous yet equally important facts. before a state can be admitted it must first be determined that by admitting the state that it will have a generally good affect on the community as a whole and not simply benefit any single nation. political orientation also plays a large role in deciding whether or not to accept a nation, since the organization was partially founded on the idea of self determination. after taking into consideration all these facts it is e...