The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited
The accession of Croatia to the European Union is yet another milestone in the history of EU enlargements. After seven enlargement rounds the membership has increased from the original six founding countries to twenty-eight Member States. Many claim, quite rightly, that the enlarge...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/206 |
| _version_ | 1818060196898930688 |
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| author | Mirna Vlašić Feketija Adam Lazowski |
| author_facet | Mirna Vlašić Feketija Adam Lazowski |
| author_sort | Mirna Vlašić Feketija |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The accession of Croatia to the European Union is yet another milestone in the history of EU enlargements. After seven enlargement rounds the membership has increased from the original six founding countries to twenty-eight Member States. Many claim, quite rightly, that the enlargement policy is the most successful of the EU’s foreign policy tools. Even those who bring this bold argument into doubt have to agree that, when contrasted with other external policies, and the European Neighbourhood Policy in particular, the overall balance sheet of the enlargement policy is positive. The accession of Croatia is symbolic in a number of ways. As argued in this article, it closes one big chapter in the history of EU enlargements but, at the same time, opens another. Croatia is – most likely – the last country to join the EU this decade. After a sometimes painful pre-accession process, it has proved to be a ‘success story’ of the stabilisation and association process. As the European Commission claims, it is living proof that the raison d’être and mechanics of the policy employed vis-à-vis the Western Balkans have their merits. However, a quick look into the future proves that the next enlargements will be far more complicated affairs. The current list of candidates and potential candidates is a mix of a heavyweight (Turkey) and the Western Balkan countries, all struggling to meet the fundamental prerequisites for a democracy based on the rule of law. Failure to comply with the Copenhagen criteria, together with a dwindling appetite for further enlargement among some Member States, create a rather dangerous mix. This article argues that following recent enhancements to the pre-accession policy, further improvements are necessary to make future expansions of the European Union possible. If only from the geopolitical perspective, this is in the joint interest of the European Union, its Member States and the countries of the Western Balkans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:28:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e579358f42641e087cf19ebbffde79e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1845-5662 1848-9958 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T13:28:35Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e579358f42641e087cf19ebbffde79e2022-12-22T01:47:05ZengUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of LawCroatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy1845-56621848-99582014-12-011013710.3935/cyelp.10.2014.206The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans RevisitedMirna Vlašić Feketija0Adam Lazowski1Advisor to the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of CroatiaUniversity of WestminsterThe accession of Croatia to the European Union is yet another milestone in the history of EU enlargements. After seven enlargement rounds the membership has increased from the original six founding countries to twenty-eight Member States. Many claim, quite rightly, that the enlargement policy is the most successful of the EU’s foreign policy tools. Even those who bring this bold argument into doubt have to agree that, when contrasted with other external policies, and the European Neighbourhood Policy in particular, the overall balance sheet of the enlargement policy is positive. The accession of Croatia is symbolic in a number of ways. As argued in this article, it closes one big chapter in the history of EU enlargements but, at the same time, opens another. Croatia is – most likely – the last country to join the EU this decade. After a sometimes painful pre-accession process, it has proved to be a ‘success story’ of the stabilisation and association process. As the European Commission claims, it is living proof that the raison d’être and mechanics of the policy employed vis-à-vis the Western Balkans have their merits. However, a quick look into the future proves that the next enlargements will be far more complicated affairs. The current list of candidates and potential candidates is a mix of a heavyweight (Turkey) and the Western Balkan countries, all struggling to meet the fundamental prerequisites for a democracy based on the rule of law. Failure to comply with the Copenhagen criteria, together with a dwindling appetite for further enlargement among some Member States, create a rather dangerous mix. This article argues that following recent enhancements to the pre-accession policy, further improvements are necessary to make future expansions of the European Union possible. If only from the geopolitical perspective, this is in the joint interest of the European Union, its Member States and the countries of the Western Balkans.https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/206croatiaeuropean unionenlargementeu foreign policywestern balkanscopenhagen criteria |
| spellingShingle | Mirna Vlašić Feketija Adam Lazowski The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy croatia european union enlargement eu foreign policy western balkans copenhagen criteria |
| title | The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited |
| title_full | The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited |
| title_fullStr | The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited |
| title_short | The Seventh EU Enlargement and Beyond: Pre-Accession Policy vis-à-vis the Western Balkans Revisited |
| title_sort | seventh eu enlargement and beyond pre accession policy vis a vis the western balkans revisited |
| topic | croatia european union enlargement eu foreign policy western balkans copenhagen criteria |
| url | https://www.cyelp.com/index.php/cyelp/article/view/206 |
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