The inclusion of Central and Eastern European counties (CEECs) into the EU is said to have abolished the Cold War division between Eastern and Western Europe. However, some cultural and historical differences between the CEECs and older member states have prevailed leading to difficulties in the formulation of common EU policies. An example of this are the EU’s relations with its Eastern neighbors, where Poland and the Baltic states prefer stronger cooperation with former Soviet states and tougher policies on Russia, than older EU members, such as Germany or France do.
This paper examines to what degree the CEECs as members of the EU have influenced European foreign policy towards the East, especially Georgia and Ukraine. On this example it explores if and in what way the presence of these newer members has shaped the EU’s strategic culture, i.e. its beliefs, norms and patters of behavior the international security environment.
