International studies, Vol. XIII No. 1, 2013.
Review article
The European Union and the Western Balkans - Between Desires and Reality
Mladen Nakić
; Centar za međunarodne studije
Abstract
The enlargement process of the European Union has gone through seven phases and in different political circumstances. The term “enlargement” is more than a numerical spreading of membership and is actually a synonym for the unification of the continent. Enlargement primary means defining the criteria for potential new members of the EU, as well as the process of negotiations for full membership of the new member states. Additionally, the enlargement is the strongest instrument of the pan-European project, with the intention of creating a unique political, economic and multicultural geographic region
with the ultimate goal of building Europe as one of the key factors for the emerging global international order, along with the U.S., China and Russia. It may seem (too) ambitious, but the enlargement process (unification) is a realistic assumption in the quest for ways of creating Europe as an important global factor. In doing so, the Western Balkans as a potential “(un)stable” European sub-region can be a means of the (de)stabilization of Europe. Thessaloniki Declaration of 2003 adopted by the European Union’s leaders clearly expressed a “European future” of all countries of the Western Balkans.
Keywords
EU enlargement; the Western Balkans; the Copenhagen criteria; accession negotiations; European integration; the Treaty of Lisbon; track record
Hrčak ID:
123011
URI
Publication date:
12.4.2013.
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