EU Enlargement or Not? Compare to other Regions.

What is meant by EU enlargement?

Do you know that people once believed that Europe would continue to enlarge and integrate across its members until it became like a "United States of Europe" with many similarities to to the United States of America? Do you think this is happening? Why or why not?

Now step back and take a look at the EU versus other regional alliances. How does it stack up? What does EU do better? What areas are stronger in one or more of the other regions? Why do you think this might be? Consider the problems faced by the region and how a collective approach may or may not be a good solution. Also, what historically might lead them to be more likely to work well together or not? Then compare/contrast with the EU region.

For this comparison, I recommend looking at one or more of the following:

• ASEAN
• MERCOSUR
• NAFTA

Could you imagine one or more of these going through enlargement? If so, what countries do you feel would be most likely to seek membership in that other region? How does that compare to the types of countries seeking entry to the EU? What do you think are their chances of being accepted on scale of 1-100 and why?