See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/357500514

The European Union Enlargement in the Western Balkans: A Never-Ending

Story of High Hopes and High Disappointments

Chapter · January 2022

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-9055-3.ch003

CITATIONS READS

4 221

1 author:

Evita Dionysiou
The Metropolitan College
2 PUBLICATIONS 6 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Evita Dionysiou on 11 July 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 39

Chapter 3
The European Union
Enlargement in the
Western Balkans:
A Never-Ending Story of High Hopes
and High Disappointments

Evita Dionysiou
Hellenic Police Academy and Metropolitan College, Greece

ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an analysis of the Western Balkans’ thorny path towards joining the European Union
(EU). The aim is to identify the key hurdles in the European enlargement in the Western Balkans as well
as to suggest ways to deal with these hurdles. The chapter begins with a historical overview and proceeds
to a discussion of the most persistent hurdles that still derail the EU enlargement process. After offering
recommendations on how to overcome these roadblocks, the chapter provides an outlook. Looking ahead,
there is still hope that the European dream of the Western Balkans will eventually turn into reality. The
final outcome will be determined to a significant degree by the commitment of the candidate countries,
the EU as a whole, but also the future position of the 27 member states. Although the new enlargement
methodology can be seen as a step forward, individual member states can still hijack the enlargement
process. This might prove to be the Achilles’ heel of the entire EU enlargement project.

INTRODUCTION

Enlargement has been on the agenda of the EU since its very first steps. The 1950 Schuman Declaration,
which marked the starting point of European integration, envisaged an organisation open for member-
ship to other countries of Europe. The idea of keeping the door open was then expressed in the initial
Treaty of Paris and in the subsequent Community and the EU Treaties. Article 49 of the Treaty on the
European Union (TEU) (Lisbon), which provides the legal basis for EU accession, stipulates that any

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-9055-3.ch003

Copyright © 2022, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
 
The European Union Enlargement in the Western Balkans

European country1 may apply to become a member of the Union if it respects its common values referred
to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them2.
In this context, the EU is currently engaged in an enlargement process towards the Western Balkans3.
Since the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, the countries of the volatile region of the Western Balkans
have repeatedly affirmed their ambition to accede to the EU. However, there is still a long road ahead
until this dream turns into reality.
The aim of this chapter is to identify the key hurdles -which can also be viewed as challenges- in the
European enlargement in the Western Balkans as well as to suggest ways to deal with these hurdles. In
order to meet this aim, the chapter is divided into four parts. In the first part, a historical perspective of
the challenges that have defined the EU-Western Balkans relationship in the past decades is presented.
In the second part, the discussion focuses on the most persistent hurdles that still derail the EU enlarge-
ment process in the region. Part three offers recommendations on how to overcome these roadblocks.
The fourth and final part of the chapter builds upon the previous analysis and provides an outlook. Will
the Western Balkans’ European dream eventually turn into reality?
The significance of the above presented analysis can be understood, if one considers that what is at
stake is not only the stability of a fragile region, but also the credibility of the EU to its nearest neighbours.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans dates back to 1999, when the EU introduced a
strategic framework for its relations with the countries of the region (the Stabilisation and Association
Process- SAP)4. The SAP was established with the purpose to support the gradual rapprochement of the
Western Balkan countries with the EU (European Parliament, 2021) and was loaded with high expectations.
In 2003, at the Thessaloniki summit, the European Council reaffirmed its determination to fully
support the European perspective of the countries of the region5. At this time, hopes were high; the
enlargement process was perceived as a geostrategic investment in peace, stability and security and an
opportunity for the EU to strengthen its role and remain the most visible player in the Western Balkans6.
In this context, the Western Balkans’ European dream received active support from EU member states.
However, in the following years, the EU enlargement in the Western Balkans unfolded at a slow pace.
A critical point was the completion of the 2004 enlargement, which brought into the Union ten former
communist countries (together with Cyprus and Malta). This was the largest enlargement in the history
of the EU- quite often referred to as ‘big bang’ (e.g. Berger & Moutos, 2004). The 2004 enlargement
was followed by the accessions of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 and the silent accession of Croatia in
2013. This brought the total number of member states to twenty-eight.
The EU, with the ‘big bang’ enlargement, had achieved, in a very short period of time, a number of
important goals7. However, following this extreme expansion of the Union, public opinion started shift-
ing against enlargement. This shift was widely attributed to the so-called enlargement fatigue on the EU
side (Devrim & Schulz, 2009; Hay & Smith, 2005; Reka, 2010; Szolucha, 2010; Zängle, 2004)8 and the
parallel accession fatigue on the side of the Western Balkan countries (O’Brennan, 2014). However,
the shifting public opinion was also viewed as a result of the shortcomings of Bulgarian and Romanian
accessions (Walldén, 2017). Another contributing factor was the fact that the remaining countries on the
EU’s enlargement agenda (i.e. the Western Balkans and Turkey) were evidently more ‘difficult’ than the
previous ones and less popular in the EU (Ibid)9.

40
 26 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may
be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the product's webpage:
www.igi-global.com/chapter/the-european-union-enlargement-in-the-western-
balkans/295602?camid=4v1

This title is available in Advances in Public Policy and Administration,

Business Knowledge Solutions e-Book Collection, e-Book Collection,
Government and Law e-Book Collection, Social Sciences and Humanities e-
Book Collection, Social Sciences Knowledge Solutions e-Book Collection.
Recommend this product to your librarian:
www.igi-global.com/e-resources/library-recommendation/?id=124

Related Content

Informality and Informalization among Eritrean Refugees: Why Migration Does Not Provide a
Lesson in Democracy
Magnus Treiber (2016). Handbook of Research on Transitional Justice and Peace Building in Turbulent
Regions (pp. 158-180).
www.igi-global.com/chapter/informality-and-informalization-among-eritrean-
refugees/142248?camid=4v1a

China's Shifting Labour-Intensive Manufacturing Firms to Africa: A Particular Focus on Ethiopia

and Rwanda
Ezihuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi (2021). Journal of Comparative Asian Development (pp. 1-36).
www.igi-global.com/article/chinas-shifting-labour-intensive-manufacturing-firms-to-
africa/285550?camid=4v1a

Politics and Promises: A Multimodal Social Semiotic Interpretation of Political Party Emblems
and Slogans as Discourse of Hope in a Democratic Nigeria
Ikenna Kamalu (2016). Political Discourse in Emergent, Fragile, and Failed Democracies (pp. 112-125).
www.igi-global.com/chapter/politics-and-promises/150128?camid=4v1a

The Study of Young People's Civic Participation on the Internet: Appraising an Emerging
Research Field
Fadi Hirzalla and Shakuntala Banaji (2019). Civic Engagement and Politics: Concepts, Methodologies,
Tools, and Applications (pp. 1377-1392).
www.igi-global.com/chapter/the-study-of-young-peoples-civic-participation-on-the-
internet/220272?camid=4v1a

View publication stats