The Evolution and Prospects of the EU Accession Negotiations Methodology

Commencing its journey as an organization established to prevent any future wars on the European soil, the EU has continuously carried a strain of historic obligation to reunite Europe and bring it prosperity in every possible aspect. Today it can be attested as an aim achieved since the EU encompasses a major part of the continent’s states. Beginning its enlargement agenda more than 40 years ago, the EU has welcomed 22 new member states since. The enlargement policy, historically seen as one of the most important and successful ones, has produced major developments of the EU in terms of its procedural and institutional configuration, and of the procedure in which the enlargement itself is achieved, whereas it can be undoubtedly attested that not a single enlargement round has passed without introducing improvements and alterations to the accession process used pro Futuro. However, today the perspective of the enlargement has been significantly changed. In an environment where the major economy and the political power such as the UK leaves the Union, where Poland and Hungary as strong and developed member states witness concerning constitutional deteriorations, and when the entire project sometimes seems as if it has met its limits, it is not surprising that possibility of enlargement to the Western Balkans, a region whose history is filled with ethnic and religious divisions, border disputes, armed conflicts, and whose present is colored with issues of rule of law accompanied by political and economic fragility, is seen by the progressive EU as a massive threat to its very existence, if not guided properly. Although the introduction of novelties to the enlargement policies has always served its purpose of fostering and improving further enlargement, bearing in mind the current political sentiment and factual conditions around the question of enlargement to the Western Balkans, it is yet to be seen whether the new enlargement methodology that the European Commission introduced in 2020 will indeed trigger positive changes in the region and foster acceptance of potential new members of the EU, or it will be the last step before the enlargement as an entire logic of the EU’s existence is finally put to rest.