Conforming to Europe: The Domestic Impact of EU Foreign Policy Cooperation

European co - operation in foreign policy, or political co - operation, recently completed its third decade of institutional development. Most of this change has taken place at European level, often by adopting or adapting the procedures of the European Community. Yet the expansion of foreign, and now security, policy co - operation in the European Union (EU) has also increasingly penetrated into the domestic politics of its member states. This article suggests a conceptual framework for measuring the ways political co - operation has encouraged corresponding changes in EU member states. Four indicators of national adaptation are stressed: lite socialization, bureaucratic restructuring, constitutional changes,and changes in public perceptions about the desirability and legitimacy of this co - operation. These types of change demonstrate that the demands of foreign policy co - operation are much greater than those outlined in treaty articles, and must be taken into consideration as the EU negotiates its next enlargement with Central and Eastern European states and attempts to develop a European security and defense identity.