Germany and the EU's eastern enlargement. Towards German normalisation?

Since Germany's unification both scholars and politicians have engaged in a heated debated: will the new Germany follow the policy line of the old Federal Republic or will it change course? In Germany this debate has centred around the concept "normalisation". Should Germany in the future become like France and the UK or should it rather apply a different standard? On the basis of this "normalisation" debate this article explores German European Policy after the end of the cold war. As its central case study it here analyses Germany's policy in relation to EU's Eastern enlargement. This policy being one of the central pillars of German foreign policy, any signs of "normalisation" are bound to be traceable here. The analysis leads to the conclusion that Germany has indeed become more "normal" in the sense that it puts more stress on defending national interests and guarding its sovereignty.