TheEurosphere or theEuropean Empire[1] is a concept centered around theEuropean Union'ssphere of influence, a term associated with the public intellectualMark Leonard,[2]Oxford University academic Jan Zielonka,[1] the European Union Director-General for Politico-Military AffairsRobert Cooper[3] and the formerEuropean Commission PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso.[4]
Over the past 50 years, the European Union has expanded from 6founding members to 27; additionally there are 7 candidate and potentialcandidate countries waiting to join:Albania,Montenegro,North Macedonia,Serbia,Turkey,Bosnia and Herzegovina, andUkraine, which are candidates, andKosovo, which is a potential candidate. A number of European countries are integrated economically, as part of theEuropean Single Market and using its single currency, the euro. Through itsHigh Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU has the capability to speak with one voice on the world stage and has establishedassociation and free trade agreements with many states. Furthermore, through theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy andUnion for the Mediterranean it is creating closer ties with countries on its borders; while developing ties with other former European colonies, theACP countries.
Countries seeking membership in the EU must undergo a great deal of reform, for example the reforms seen in Turkey, such asthe abolition of capital punishment.[5] The emergence of the Union's global influence, and the draw of membership, has been the subject of a number of academic writings. Mark Leonard describes the area of EU influence as the "Eurosphere".
According to Mark Leonard, the Eurosphere includes 109 countries. InEurope, this includes the 27 member states of the EU, applicant countries wishing to join the EU, theWestern Balkans and EuropeanCommonwealth of Independent States countries (includingArmenia,Belarus,Georgia,Moldova,Ukraine and transcontinentalKazakhstan). He does not mention Western European countries such asNorway who are already integrated into the EU's single market. Outside of Europe, he lists every African country and every Middle Eastern country, as well as the countries forming the eastern border of the Eurosphere such asIran,Azerbaijan andRussia.[6]
Other countries that could be said to be within the Eurosphere include European countries belonging to theEuropean Economic Area, such asIceland orLiechtenstein, states using theeuro as their currency, such asAndorra,Monaco andSan Marino, or the EU'sOutermost Regions (OMR) in theCaribbean, South America and in the Atlantic, such asFrench Guiana,Guadeloupe,La Réunion,Martinique andSaint Martin. In addition, the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) closely associated with the EU in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific and Southern oceans are generally included in the Eurosphere such asAruba,Bonaire,Curaçao,French Polynesia,Greenland andSaint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.
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