EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Summary

EU as a Global Actor

  • Role: Diplomacy, crisis management, governance.

  • Guiding Framework: TEU Articles 21 and 49 for enlargement and foreign policy.

  • Normative Power: Promotes democracy, law, and human rights instead of military force.

  • Key Tools: Enlargement (full membership) and ENP (partnerships with non-member neighbours).

  • Complementary Roles: Enlargement integrates; ENP stabilizes.

Legal Basis of Enlargement

  • Article 49 TEU: European state can apply for membership if it upholds democratic values.

  • Copenhagen Criteria (1993): Democracy, rule of law, human rights, market economy capacity.

  • Madrid Criteria (1995): Focus on effective public administration for EU law implementation.

Accession Process

  • Steps: Formal application → Commission Opinion → Candidate Status → Detailed screening of laws → Negotiations over 35 chapters.

  • Negotiation: Chapters open when benchmarks are met, reflecting the need for verifiable reforms.

Enlargement Waves

  • 1973: First enlargement with UK, Ireland, Denmark.

  • 1981 & 1986: Greece, Spain, Portugal transitioned to democracies through EU support.

  • 2004-2007: Major Eastern enlargement with post-Soviet states.

Enlargement as Foreign Policy

  • Incentive: EU membership encourages significant reforms in candidate countries.

  • Stabilizing Influence: EU's expansion helps democratize and stabilize aspiring member nations.

  • Turkey: Long application history since 1963; complex negotiations, multiple blocked chapters.

  • Ukraine and Georgia: Transition from ENP to candidacy following significant political changes and reforms.

  • Western Balkans: Various levels of progress, with some countries like Serbia facing disputes affecting accession timelines.

European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)

  • Purpose: Manage relations with neighbors post-2004 enlargement without offering EU membership immediately.

  • Instruments: Includes Association Agreements (AAs) and financial support mechanisms like ENI and NDICI.

ENP Reforms and Conditionality

  • Framework: Action Plans and AAs outline reform priorities with financial assistance linked to progress.

  • Principles: "More for more" and "less for less" to incentivize or penalize reforms.

Enlargement vs. ENP

  • Differences: Membership offers full integration; ENP provides partnership without accession promises and varying reform leverage.

  • Effectiveness: Enlargement is a deep transformation tool, but results with ENP fluctuate based on political dynamics.