Abstract
The integration problem of European neutral states is in the first instance composed of the economic pressures that pull or push them into Western European integration, and the restraints of participation arising from foreign policy considerations. The present pressures mainly arise from the EC's progress towards the completion of its internal market, the joint EFTA-EC plan for a Western European home market for industrial goods, and the advance of Western European R&D projects. The pressures are amplified by the growing speculation that some EFTA countries are preparing themselves for bilateral talks with the EC. From the point of view of foreign policy, the neturals' main problem may no longer arise from the EC's role in the East- West conflict but from the EC's own integrative and bloc-like character. The R&D integration is unlikely to raise immediate foreign policy problems for the neutral participants, though their capacity for independent action may weaken in the long term. The comprehensive Western European home market is, as such, unlikely to compromise the EFTA neutrals' foreign policies. Due to her more open policy vis-à- vis the EC, Sweden's situation at the present time is more complex than that of Finland. Finland's problems would become more difficult, however, in the event that some EFTA states approach the EC for new basic treaty negotiations.
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